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Artist News
Eleven more women accuse Placido Domingo of sexual harassment
By Andy Malt | Published on Friday 6 September 2019
Opera singer Placido Domingo has been accused of sexual harassment by a further eleven women. This follows accusations made by nine women in an Associated Press report last month.
Following the initial report, the LA Opera and record industry trade group IFPI – of which Domingo is General Director and Honorary Chair, respectively – said that they would investigate the accusations. The claims against him span three decades, from the late 1980s onwards. Domingo denies all the allegations against him.
One of the women to come forward for the new report is Angela Turner Wilson, who performed with Domingo in Jules Massenet’s ‘Le Cid’, as part of the Washington Opera’s 1999-2000 season, when he was Artistic Director of the company. She says that before one performance, while they were having their make-up done, he reached inside her bra and grabbed her breast.
“It hurt”, she said. “It was not gentle. He groped me hard … Then I had to go on stage and act like I was in love with him”.
Domingo has previously said that he “believed that all of my interactions and relationships were always welcomed and consensual”, adding that “the rules and standards by which we are – and should be – measured against today are very different than they were in the past”.
However, Wilson disputes that her alleged incident was “welcomed” or acceptable behaviour at the time, saying: “What woman would ever want him to grab their breast?”
Domingo has not commented directly on the latest set of accusations, but his spokesperson, Nancy Seltzer, has accused the Associated Press of having a vendetta against him.
“The ongoing campaign by the AP to denigrate Placido Domingo is not only inaccurate but unethical”, said Seltzer. “These new claims are riddled with inconsistencies and, as with the first story, in many ways, simply incorrect. Due to an ongoing investigation, we will not comment on specifics, but we strongly dispute the misleading picture that the AP is attempting to paint of Mr Domingo”.
Neither the IFPI or the LA Opera have commented on the latest article, although the LA Times says that Domingo has already been removed from day-to-day management of the latter company.
