Sexual harassment: "I am not the Harvey Weinstein of the opera", defends the tenor Placido Domingo

“ I have never abused anyone. "Indicted in 2019 in the United States for sexual harassment, contaminated with Covid-19 but now recovered, the Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo has" found his voice ", both to again deny his accusers and to repeat his recitals.

“ I have changed. I'm not scared anymore. When I found out that I had the Covid, I promised myself that if I made it out alive, I would fight to clear my name, ”said the opera superstar, in an interview published Thursday by the Italian daily La Repubblica . “ I am not the Harvey Weinstein of opera, ” he adds, referring to the American film producer sentenced to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault.

Two or three months ago I wasn't sure I could sing again

Placido Domingo, 79, announced in March from his refuge in Acapulco, Mexico, that he had tested positive for the new coronavirus, then had been hospitalized. “ Finding my voice was a miracle. Two or three months ago I wasn't sure I could sing again, ”he told La Repubblica .

Read also: Sexual harassment: the forgiveness of Placido Domingo to his victims

“ The only thing that worries me now is leaving my refuge in Acapulco, where I haven't moved for months; I have never spent so much time at home with my wife, my son, my daughter-in-law and my two grandchildren ”, says the singer, confident that the confinement had been“ an extraordinary moment, useful to reflect on our lives, our choices ”.

“ Now is the time to get back to normal. But " our lives have changed. And as you know, it is even more difficult for me because of the accusations that have been brought against me ”in the media.

Read also: The Los Angeles Opera considers the accusations of harassment against Placido Domingo "credible"

These accusations " destabilized myself and my family " and " hurt me more than the virus." It only remains for me to take note of the fact that for the moment I will not be able to sing in some parts of the world, like the United States and Spain, my country. And certainly not because of a choice made by the public, which constantly sends me messages of solidarity. [...] But what to do? It's life ! "

About twenty charges

Placido Domingo was accused in 2019 in the American press of having sexually harassed twenty women in the United States. This forced him to give up his post as director of the Los Angeles Opera and to cancel all his performances across the Atlantic, de facto ending his career in North America.

Placido Domingo, accustomed to ovations around the world and who has recorded a hundred albums, found himself caught up by the #MeToo movement, born in the wake of the accusations against Harvey Weinstein in October 2017.