Opera star Placido Domingo says it is impossible to compliment a woman nowadays due to political correctness as he reveals how he has been affected by sexual harassment claims
- 20 women accused Mr Domingo of harassment and inappropriate behaviour
- The Spanish singer denies the claims which have lost him contracts in the US
- In interview, the 78-year-old said: ‘you can’t say anything to a woman anymore’
- He added he feels stronger and more enthusiastic than ever about his career
Opera star Placido Domingo has said it is impossible to compliment a woman nowadays because of political correctness as he reveals how he has been affected by the sexual harassment claims brought against him by 20 women.
The Spanish singer, who resigned from his role as general manager at Los Angeles Opera in the wake of the accusations, said that 30 years ago complimenting a woman’s outfit or appearance was normal and acceptable.
‘But now you can’t say anything to a woman anymore,’ Mr Domingo told the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
Opera star Placido Domingo performs during a concert in Hamburg last week. The Grammy-award winning singer has had accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviour brought against him by 20 women who worked with him in the opera world
He added that as a Spaniard it was particularly normal for him to speak to women in this way and that Spain had not adopted the same levels of political correctness he felt in the US, where the accusations stem from.
‘It’s not like that here,’ he said.
The accusations have been brought against Mr Domingo from women who worked with him in the opera world.
They said Mr Domingo would attempt to kiss or touch them, and sometimes damage their careers if they rejected him.
Mr Domingo strongly denies the claims against him, which he says ‘makes no sense’. He added that 30 years ago you could compliment a women, ‘but now you can’t say anything to a woman anymore’.
The singer strongly denies the claims, which he says ‘make no sense’.
He added: ‘It is very easy these days to go against someone you don’t sympathize with, and to disseminate falsehoods.’
The fresh comments are likely to spark reaction from Mr Domingo’s accusers, who last week slammed his then defence of his behaviour.
Mr Domingo had said he always behaved like a gentleman but that ‘gallant gestures are viewed differently nowadays’.
In response, Angela Turner Wilson and Patricia Wulf, two of Domingo’s accusers, issued a response through their attorney.
‘There is nothing ‘chivalrous’ or ‘gallant’ about groping a woman in the workplace, in any country or era,’ Ms Wilson and Ms Wulf said.
Former opera singer Patricia Wulf, one of Mr Domingo’s accusers, in her garden at home in Virginia. Ms Wulf reacted angrily to Mr Domingo’s claims in recent interviews that he never behaved improperly and always acted gallantly and like a gentleman with women.
While Mr Domingo has lost contracts in the US in the wake of the allegations, he still has plans to perform in Europe for the 2021/22 season.
His comments come only a few days after he received a standing ovation in Valencia on Monday.
Mr Domingo said that although the accusations had hurt him and his wife, they were ‘very close, very strong’.
While Mr Domingo has lost contracts in the US in the wake of the allegations, he still has plans to perform in Europe for the 2021/22 season. He added that he was more enthusiastic than ever about his career and that he was not daunted by the prospect of turning 80 in 13 months
He added that he was more enthusiastic than ever about his career and that he was not daunted by the prospect of turning 80 in 13 months.
Mr Domingo insisted that he has no plans to defend himself legally, and completely respects the investigation into his conduct at LA Opera.
When asked if he wished the tumultuous year would come to an end, Mr Domingo denied having thoughts of that nature.
”I only wish, perhaps, that the good days could be longer and the bad days shorter,’ he said.