Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin has filed a lawsuit against his nephew, Dennis Sanchez Martin.
On Wednesday, the 50-year-old singer filed the lawsuit against his nephew, accusing him of extortion, malicious persecution, abuse of law and damages stemming from false allegations of sexual abuse.
The “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer, filed the lawsuit weeks after Sanchez withdrew his sexual assault complaint against Martin.
Per Martin’s complaint, Sanchez — whose mother is Martin’s sister — initially made the claims against the former Broadway star after he didn’t follow Sanchez on social media and “ignored” his requests to make a social media page for Martin’s children.
Sanchez allegedly published Martin’s phone number, forcing the singer to change it. Months later, Sanchez filed the sexual assault lawsuit against the singer and asked for a restraining order.
In his lawsuit, Sanchez alleged that he and Martin were romantically involved for seven months and that Martin “did not accept” that the alleged relationship ended two months before Sanchez’s claims. He said he “feared for his safety” and requested the order.
A judge, however, dismissed the temporary restraining order against the music star.
“The situation has continued despite the defendant voluntarily withdrawing from an action he had commenced against Plaintiff based on falsehoods, during which he admitted under oath that he had never been sexually assaulted by Plaintiff,” Martin’s lawyers wrote in the docs.
The lawsuit alleges that Martin has been “persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted” by his “troubled” nephew for economic reasons.
It further alleges that if the nephew does not obtain any financial benefit, he would continue to “assassinate the reputation and integrity of the artist”.
The lawsuit contends the harassment has continued even though Martin’s nephew, Dennis Yadiel Sánchez Martin, admitted under oath in July that he had never been sexually assaulted by the artist.
Sánchez had previously taken legal action against his uncle based on those false allegations, which prompted a judge in Puerto Rico to issue a restraining order against Martin in July that a court later suspended.
The allegations cost Martin at least $US10 million ($15 million) in lost income as a result of cancelled contracts and projects as well as $US20 million in damages to his reputation, according to the lawsuit.
The attorney who represented Sánchez in that case was contacted for comment but it was not clear if she also would be representing him in the lawsuit filed on Wednesday.
The lawsuit stated that from October 2021 to January 2022, Sánchez would send up to 10 messages a day to Martin, the majority of them “meaningless diatribes without any particular purpose”.
It also accused Sánchez of publishing Martin’s private number on Instagram, which forced the singer to change his number.
Several months then went by without Sánchez sending a message until he requested the protection order in July against Martin, according to the lawsuit.
It also said Sánchez falsely alleged that he had had a romantic relationship with Martin for seven months.
It also said two restraining orders had previously been filed against Sánchez in an unrelated stalking case.
AFP