
Spanish singer Julio Iglesias has been accused of sexual assault by two former female employees, who say they were subjected to "inappropriate touching, insults and humiliation ... in an atmosphere of constant harassment."
The two women – a domestic worker and a physical therapist who worked at Iglesias' residences in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas – claim the attacks occurred in 2021.
The allegations came to light at the end of a three-year joint investigation by Spanish news site elDiario.es and Spanish-language television network Univision Noticias, which gathered testimony from 15 former employees who had worked for the 82-year-old singer from the late 1990s to 2023.
“These interviews describe the conditions of the women’s isolation, labor disputes, the hierarchical structure of the staff and the tense atmosphere created by Iglesias’ explosive character,” elDiario.es said in its report on Tuesday.
“The two women who reported sexual assault were interviewed several times over more than a year, and their accounts remained consistent throughout. Their statements are supported by extensive documentary evidence, such as photographs, phone records, WhatsApp messages, visas, medical reports, and other documents.”
One of the women, named Rebecca to protect her identity, said that Iglesias, who was 77 at the time, often called her to his room at the end of the workday.
She said he touched her sexually without her consent. “He used me almost every night,” she told elDiario.es and Univision Noticias. “I felt like an object, like a slave.”
According to Rebecca, the attacks usually occurred in the presence – and with the participation – of another Iglesias employee who was her superior.
Another woman, known by the pseudonym Laura, told two media outlets that Iglesias kissed her on the lips and touched her breasts without her permission and against her will.
“We were on the beach and he came up to me and touched my chest,” she said, adding that a similar incident also occurred near the pool at the singer’s villa in Punta Cana, a luxury resort in the Dominican Republic.
Both women said the employees were subjected to a tense and controlling atmosphere and spoke of how Iglesias “normalized the abuse.” Rebecca said: “That house should be called the little house of terror, because it is a nightmare – something truly terrifying.”
Testimonies from former employees about the recruitment system reveal a process that began with social media advertisements aimed at young women. Applicants were asked to send in photos of their faces and full bodies.
Rebecca and Laura said Iglesias asked them intimate questions soon after they arrived, such as: “Do you like women?”, “Do you like threesomes?”, and “Have you had breast surgery?” They say he asked them to look at their breasts on several occasions and also touched them.
ElDiario.es reported later on Tuesday that the two women had filed an official complaint with prosecutors at Spain's highest criminal court, the Audiencia Nacional, accusing Iglesias of human trafficking and sexual assault.
Journalists from elDiario.es and Univision made repeated attempts to contact Julio Iglesias and his lawyer through various channels, but received no response to questions sent by email, phone, and letter.
However, the woman Rebecca identified as her first supervisor at the Punta Cana residence — and with whom she claimed to have had her first sexual encounter with Iglesias — dismissed the allegations as nonsense. She said she had only “gratitude, admiration and respect for the great artist and man that he is,” and described him as “humble, generous, a great gentleman and very respectful of all women.”
Iglesias, who has sold more than 300 million records during his six-decade career, was also defended by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, the president of the Madrid region, known for her right-wing and outspoken stances.
“Women are being attacked and raped in Iran with the complicit silence of the far left,” she wrote in a message on X. “The Madrid region will never contribute to the discrediting of artists, and even less so when it comes to the most universal of all singers: Julio Iglesias.”