The Madrid Provincial Prosecutor's Office has filed a complaint in court this week against the playwright Ramón Paso for sexual crimes against several young women between 18 and 25 years old that, according to the victims' testimonies, happened between 2018 and 2023. She has been the lawyer Luisa Estévez Martínez, who represents 14 women who have denounced the scriptwriter and stage director to the Prosecutor's Office, who has informed several agencies of the procedure, and has explained that the public ministry's complaint is in the deanery of the courts of instruction from Madrid awaiting delivery. Contacted by EL PAÍS, Ramón Paso has declined to make statements for the moment and sources close to him explain that he is analyzing the situation with his advisors.
The Prosecutor's Office has taken this step after completing the pre-procedural proceedings that it opened in November of last year and taking statements from the 14 women, who have ratified, one by one, their complaint against the theater director, grandson of the playwright Alfonso Paso and great-grandson of the writer. Enrique Jardiel Poncela. According to the lawyer, the prosecution's complaint has been filed for alleged crimes of sexual assault - some of a continuous nature - and also for harassment, harassment, coercion and against moral integrity.
It was the lawyer Estévez who informed the Madrid Prosecutor's Office last November of the reported events and has provided documents and psychological reports of the victims, most of them at the beginning of their theatrical career and whom Paso would have met at the auditions. to those who presented themselves. After collecting her testimony, the public prosecutor's office questioned the women, who ratified their complaint against the playwright for events that allegedly took place between 2018 and 2023, regarding Paso's theatrical activity.
The lawyer has specified that the majority of the complainants, although not all, were victims of events that would fall within the crimes of sexual assault, in their different intensities, and also mentions the alleged coercion and harassment that they would have suffered from the playwright at the same time. time. On April 10, the Prosecutor's Office decreed the conclusion of the investigation proceedings that it opened after learning of “the facts against the sexual freedom” of the young women that the lawyer brought to it, and agreed to file a complaint before the courts of Madrid, which took place this Tuesday. The head of the court in which the case falls will be responsible for whether or not to admit the complaint to processing.
First reactions
After hearing about the complaint from the Prosecutor's Office, the first reaction was that of the actor Pepe Viyuela, who has made the decision to abandon
Jardiel Enamorado
, the play in which he plays the writer Enrique Jardiel Poncela, which is now being performed in the Infanta Isabel Theater in Madrid, with original text and direction by Paso. “I was shocked. I am nervous. I do not think in another thing. I am shocked,” the actor explained to Europa Press, while ensuring that he has not spoken with the playwright. “I don't want to call him. I don't want to continue with the show. "I'm leaving," he stressed, later clarifying that Paso is not his friend. In the middle of rehearsal, the actor assured that he understands "the presumption of innocence, but there is something too strong in the subject", remembering that it is about "14 women."
Jardiel Enamorado
is a production by Ramón Paso himself through his company PasoAzorín in association with the well-known film producer Andrés Vicente Gómez through his company Lola Teatro. As production sources have confirmed to this newspaper, this Wednesday's show has been suspended after Viyuela's resignation. This afternoon the team will meet to decide whether to resume it with another actor or cancel it indefinitely. “I don't know if the show is going to continue,” reflected Viyuela, who believes that “the public won't want to see it either.”
On the other hand, from the representation agency of the actress Ana Azorín, who also participates in the cast of
Jardiel enamored
and who is also a founding partner of the Paso Azorín theater company along with the playwright himself, they have communicated that the actress “always works with him ” and that in all these years there has been “an extraordinary relationship without any problems.”
Throughout the day there have been other reactions both within the theater sector and in the cultural field in general. The League of Professional Women in Theater sent a message this morning to its members to show their support for the victims and invite them to report sexual abuse within the profession. “We want to encourage you to contact us if you have suffered or witnessed similar abuse and we can help you from our association in any way possible,” the note reads.
In conversation with this newspaper, Beatriz Velilla, president of this organization, emphasizes that complaints like this are very important because they show that it is possible to report and can encourage other victims to do so. “They give hope. For example, shortly after sending our message to members we received information about another possible case.” However, Ella Velilla recognizes that it is very difficult to go to court: “We can advise, but little else. Recently we have received another case that affects three women, but we cannot make it visible because not all of them dare to report it.” Regarding the incidence of sexual abuse in the Spanish theater world, Ella Velilla considers that it is a particularly vulnerable profession due to the precariousness suffered by professionals. “If you depend on them calling you or not calling you, logically you are not going to get into trouble. And let's not say if we talk about the world of teaching, where a power relationship is established that gives rise to abuse,” she points out.
The General Society of Authors and Editors, the SGAE, has also spoken out and demanded that Spanish public and private institutions in the field of culture adopt “exemplary measures” to prevent situations of sexist violence. The SGAE considers it “essential” for coexistence in equality and for freedom of creation that women be “supported not only by creators, but also by the organizations that must ensure the total eradication of abuses of power, generally male , in the work environment.”
In this sense, the SGAE ensures that “inaction and indifference only perpetuate patriarchy in creation” and lead to “collusion” with violence and sexual abuse towards female creators. A message similar to that of the Union of Actors and Actresses, which demands “zero tolerance” with cases of sexual violence. “We encourage any actress who suffers violence or harassment to come forward. Although we know that it is not always easy to take the first step, we encourage you to take it with whoever you consider: acquaintances, family, coworkers... Silence is the first obstacle and it must be broken to begin to implement measures," a spokesperson for that union has concluded.
Telephone 016 assists victims of sexist violence, their families and those around them 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in 53 different languages. The number is not registered on the telephone bill, but the call must be deleted from the device. You can also contact them by email
at 016-online@igualdad.gob.es
and by WhatsApp at the number 600 000 016. Minors can contact the ANAR Foundation by calling 900 20 20 10. If it is an emergency situation, You can call 112 or the National Police (091) and Civil Guard (062) telephone numbers. And if you cannot call, you can use the ALERTCOPS application, from which an alert signal is sent to the Police with geolocation.