Ricky Martin has denied an accusation of sexual assault made last week by his nephew.
In a statement, a lawyer representing the 50-year-old singer called the allegations by Dennis Yadiel Sánchez “wildly offensive and completely untethered from reality.”
The specific allegations in the complaint, filed Friday with police in Puerto Rico, were not made public. Sánchez was not publicly named but The Associated Press cited a source as confirming that he filed the complaint. Martin has not been charged with a crime.
Martin sued his nephew last Wednesday, seeking at least $20 million U.S. for the loss of “multi-million dollar” deals as a result of stalking allegations he made earlier this summer.
“When this man previously made similar allegations, his legal case had to be withdrawn — not least because he himself admitted under oath that Ricky Martin had never assaulted him in any way,” read the statement from Martin’s lawyer José Andréu-Fuentes. “Now, after being sued for trying to extort Mr. Martin, he is attempting to spread his lies again.
“It is beyond time that the media stops giving this deeply troubled individual the oxygen of publicity and allows him to get the help he so clearly needs.”
MORE: Ricky Martin Sues Nephew Who Accused Him Of Stalking
Sánchez, the son of Martin’s paternal half-sister Vanessa Martín, claimed to have had a seven-month consensual relationship with the pop star and alleged that Martin stalked and harassed him when it ended. A judge issued a restraining order under Puerto Rico’s Domestic Abuse Prevention and Intervention Act. (Martin was never charged with a crime.)
At the time, Martin’s lawyer said the allegations were both “untrue” and “disgusting” and described Sánchez as “struggling with deep mental health challenges.”
In his lawsuit, Martin alleged Sánchez continued to harass him after “voluntarily withdrawing” the application for a restraining order that was “based on falsehoods” and noted that Sánchez admitted under oath at the hearing “that he had never been sexually assaulted” by his famous uncle.
Martin claimed he is being “persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted by a maladjusted person, whose interest is to obtain an economic benefit or, in the alternative, will continue his eagerness to assassinate the reputation and integrity of the artist.”
The 50-year-old singer alleged that Sánchez has sent him messages via Instagram demanding money. In addition to financial compensation, he wants a court to order his nephew to “immediately refrain” from contacting him and his family.
In June, Martin’s former manager Rebecca Drucker filed a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against him alleging breach of contract. The statement of claim mentioned that Drucker “protected Martin from the consequences of his reckless indiscretions” and claims that in September 2020, he was “threatened with a potentially career-ending allegation” but “emerged unscathed” thanks to her efforts.
Drucker said that when he learned of the “devastating claim” against him, Martin collapsed and “expressed his extreme fear … that if this threat were carried out, the consequence … would be catastrophic.”
Martin has been married to artist Jwan Yosef since 2017 and they are parents to four children.