Ricky Martin is fighting a new round of “wildly offensive” sexual assault claims — less than a week after he filed a $20 million lawsuit over previous accusations from his nephew.
The new complaint was filed Friday at a police precinct in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Although the name of the person who waged the allegations was not listed, the Associated Press reported that it was Martin’s nephew, Dennis Yadiel Sánchez, who made the filing.
“These claims are wildly offensive and completely untethered from reality,” Martin’s attorney José Andréu-Fuentes said in a statement to Deadline. “When this man previously made similar allegations, his legal case had to be withdrawn — not least because he himself admitted under oath that Ricky Martin had never assaulted him in any way.”
The Latin pop icon filed his suit against Sánchez Sept. 7, claiming his nephew’s accusations of incest and sexual abuse were an attempt to “assassinate” the singer’s reputation, according to court docs obtained by The Post.
The lawsuit — which claims Sánchez’s allegations cost Martin at least $10 million worth of canceled contracts and projects, plus another $20 million in damages to his reputation —came after the 50-year-old pop star was slapped with accusations that he was romantically involved with Sanchez, and allegedly harassed the young man after their relationship ended.
In July, Martin’s 21-year-old nephew claimed he was a victim of domestic abuse and illegal incest at the hands of Martin, and was granted a restraining order against the “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer.
At the time, Martin’s attorney denied the “disgusting” and “untrue” accusations, saying the accuser has “mental health challenges.” Eventually, the case against Martin was dropped, but according to the latest legal action taken by Martin, Sanchez hasn’t stopped there.
He claimed one month after Sanchez withdrew the restraining order, that he bombarded Martin with messages via social media, and vowed to “assassinate his reputation and integrity” if Martin didn’t cough up some hush money.
Sanchez once boasted about being Martin’s nephew, the lawsuit alleges — that is, before he made claims of incest and domestic violence. In the paperwork, Martin said he received an onslaught of direct messages for four months, sometimes getting more than 10 in a day.
The messages, according to Martin, were sent by a “maladjusted individual,” who also leaked the singer’s phone number on Instagram and created parody accounts for one of Martin’s kids.
Due to Sanchez’s allegations, Martin — who is currently filming the upcoming Apple TV+ series “Mrs. American Pie” with Laura Dern, Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney and Kaia Gerber — claims to have lost multimillion-dollar deals, and now seeks $20 million as compensation for the damages, in addition to leaving the singer feeling “unsafe” in Puerto Rico.
Martin has been vocal about how “painful” the claims against him were, calling them “devastating” for him and his loved ones.
“It has been so painful. It has been devastating for me, for my family, for my friends, and I wouldn’t wish this upon anybody,” Martin said last month. “To the person that was claiming this nonsense, I wish him the best and I wish he finds the help so he can start a new life filled with love and truth and joy, and he doesn’t hurt anybody else.”
Meanwhile, Martin faces another $3 million lawsuit filed in July by his former manager Rebecca Drucker, who alleges she is owed unpaid commissions. Her suit also hinted at a “potentially career-ending allegation” occurring in September 2020, although Martin “emerged unscathed and proceeded with his professional resurgence.”
The next hearing for Drucker’s suit is scheduled for Oct. 5.
— With Post wires.
