Ricky Martin Is Now Suing His Nephew for Up to 30 Million Dollars
According to a recent report from CNN, “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer Ricky Martin is now suing his nephew Dennis Yadiel Sanchez Martin for upwards of $30 million dollars, following Dennis’ incest allegations from earlier this year.
The case was initially dismissed on July 21 after Sanchez opted to drop the charges, but Martin’s legal team has decided to pursue some kind of restitution after the allegations caused “damage to the reputation of the plaintiff,” who “enjoyed an impeccable reputation earned through his long artistic and altruistic career for the last almost 40 years of his life,” per the official court document.
Martin’s lawsuit also alleges that the damage caused by the allegations resulted in “million-dollar contracts and present and future artistic projects” being canceled, as well as “damages caused as a result of these actions” quantifying “a sum of no less than US $10 million.” Martin’s legal team is pursuing up to $30 million dollars in damages, though some sources, like the Los Angeles Times, report the number is closer to $20 million.
The suit also brands Sanchez as someone “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,” and that Martin was “persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted by a maladjusted person.” Martin’s team had made reference to Sanchez’s apparent struggle with mental illness as early as July of this year.
Sanchez’s allegations first came to light on July 1, when he anonymously reported that he and Martin had engaged in a 7-month-long affair. Eventually, Martin’s brother Eric revealed the identity of the accuser, leading Martin to respond days later with an official statement that read, “The protection order entered against me is based on completely false allegations, so I will respond through the judicial process with the facts and the dignity that characterize me.”
According to The A.V. Club, Martin released another statement once Sanchez withdrew his claims, focusing on how they caused pain to his family and friends, and that his “priority is to heal.” Now, almost two months after Sanchez dropped the case, Martin is looking to get back what was taken from him, namely financial and artistic opportunities with which he was involved.
Martin is at the center of two major lawsuits, one against his nephew, and one filed against him by former manager Rebecca Drucker, who accused Martin of withholding compensation that, based on commissions from contracts and sponsorships, is worth millions of dollars. Drucker also claimed that she protected Martin from a “potentially career-ending allegation” in 2020.
