(CelebrityAccess) – Plácido Domingo, the Chairman of global recorded music industry trade body IFPI, has been accused of sexual harassment by a number of women, according to The Associated Press.
Eight singers and a dancer have told AP that they were sexually harassed by the Spanish-born music executive and opera superstar in “encounters that took place over three decades beginning in the late 1980s, at venues that included opera companies where he held top managerial positions”.
In addition to the nine women who have outright accused Domingo of harassment, AP reports that “a half-dozen other women” have told the news agency of “suggestive overtures by Domingo”. The publication reportedly spoke to “almost three dozen other singers, dancers, orchestra musicians, members of backstage staff, voice teachers and an administrator” who claim that they have “witnessed inappropriate sexually tinged behavior by Domingo” and that “he pursued younger women with impunity”.
Seven of the nine accusers told AP “they feel their careers were adversely impacted after rejecting Domingo’s advances,” with some saying that “roles he promised never materialized” and several noting that “while they went on to work with other companies, they were never hired to work with him again”.
Domingo issued the following statement to The Associated Press in response: “The allegations from these unnamed individuals dating back as many as thirty years are deeply troubling, and as presented, inaccurate.
“Still, it is painful to hear that I may have upset anyone or made them feel uncomfortable — no matter how long ago and despite my best intentions. I believed that all of my interactions and relationships were always welcomed and consensual. People who know me or who have worked with me know that I am not someone who would intentionally harm, offend, or embarrass anyone.
“However, I recognize that the rules and standards by which we are — and should be — measured against today are very different than they were in the past. I am blessed and privileged to have had a more than 50-year career in opera and will hold myself to the highest standards.”
A former member of The Three Tenors, Domingo’s repertoire as a singer includes 147 roles with nearly 3,700 career performances. His studio work has seen him win 12 Grammys (including three Latin Grammys). He has also conducted over 500 operative and symphonic performances with the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Vienna Staatsoper, LA Opera, Chicago Symphony, Vienna Philharmonic, Montréal Symphony, National Symphony, London Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Berlin Philharmonic, among others. He was named Chairman of IFPI in July 2011.
