Julio Iglesias demands Yolanda Díaz to compensate him and retract the statements in which she considered him a sexual abuser who had employees in a "slavery situation." This is the first step for the singer to file a lawsuit against the Vice President and Minister of Labor. If the Sumar leader does not comply with the request, Julio Iglesias will pursue the criminal route.
The singer's lawyer, José Antonio Choclán, has submitted a written document with these demands to the Civil Court of Madrid. He argues that "the defendant, a high public official of the State, first issued clear prejudices of guilt against Iglesias to the public opinion through a social network and later through a television medium, such as that in his house sexual abuses were committed, workers were in a state of slavery, and fundamental rights were systematically violated."
Iglesias wants Díaz to "acknowledge the seriously defamatory and slanderous nature of the statements, that an undue parallel trial has taken place from an extrajudicial public authority, uttering defamatory and slanderous statements that have damaged the honor, image, and social reputation" of the singer.
Iglesias' claim focuses on a message from Yolanda Díaz on January 13 on Bluesky and a subsequent interview on TVE.
"Chilling testimonies from former employees of Julio Iglesias of sexual abuse and a situation of slavery with a power structure based on permanent aggression," she wrote on the social network after elDiario.es reported the complaint of two former employees to the National Court Prosecutor's Office.
"The next day," Iglesias' representation says, "not only did she not retract such statements, but she reaffirmed them, expanding the uttered expressions" in an interview on La Hora de la 1 where she was asked about her message on Bluesky.
The document highlights that the Vice President was also asked about another complaint against former President Adolfo Suárez and that her attitude was very different: "She refrained from making any comments, taking refuge in the fact of being aware of such information, which evidenced a radical change of criteria regarding what was stated [about Iglesias]."
The document concludes with the singer's intention: that Díaz "publicly retract, compensate" him with an amount yet to be determined, and acknowledge the following: "The defamatory nature of the statements that are the subject of this conciliation note and, if applicable, of the upcoming lawsuit; that an undue parallel trial has taken place from an extrajudicial public authority, uttering defamatory and slanderous statements that have damaged the honor, image, and social reputation of Mr. Iglesias de la Cueva, who is presented by the defendant Minister of Labor and Social Economy as a sexual abuser, a person who engages in practices of slavery with his employees, and who gravely violates their fundamental rights for being women."
Iglesias' decision to take action against Díaz comes after the National Court Prosecutor's Office rejected opening an investigation into the complaints, considering that it did not have jurisdiction over acts committed abroad.
The Second Vice President of the Government has responded to the singer's move with another message on Bluesky: "I defend working women against anyone who violates their integrity and rights, and I will not stop doing so. With complaints or without complaints, women no longer remain silent." The message accompanies a report on Julio Iglesias' complaint.