Ricky Martin is going to appear in court virtually this Thursday, July 21, to contest his nephew’s claims that they were in a seven-month relationship and that Martin stalked and harassed him afterwards.
TMZ reports that the singer plans to “vigorously deny” that anything went down between him and his nephew. The nephew’s claims lead to the court issuing a restraining order against the singer earlier this month.
As we previously reported, a Spanish news outlet said that with this case Martin could face up to 50 years in prison. However, this is not necessarily true considering that it is not being seen as a criminal offense yet. That could change depending on what comes out of the trial starting on Thursday as this will be the first time Martin and his lawyers will get to present their side of the story.
It was Martin’s brother who identified his nephew as the victim in this incident. He also mentioned that the nephew deals with mental health issues.
On July 3, Martin released his one and only statement so far via Twitter – saying, “The order of protection filed against me is based on completely false accusations, for which I will respond to through the judicial process with the facts and the dignity that characterize me. Because it is an ongoing judicial matter, I cannot make detailed statements at this time. I appreciate the countless messages of solidarity and I receive them wholeheartedly.”
— Ricky Martin (@ricky_martin) July 3, 2022
Martin is not dealing with just this one lawsuit. Last month, his former manager sued him for $3 million for missing compensation for work done over the last few years. She mentioned how she helped him come out unscathed of a threatening allegation at the time. This situation with his nephew could be the aforementioned allegation. The manager including it in the lawsuit only gives the case more credibility. In the lawsuit, she also stated that Martin created a very “toxic and manipulative” work environment.
