LOS ANGELES — Eleven more women have accused legendary opera singer Placido Domingo of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior, according to The Associated Press.
According to the news agency, one of the new accusers, Dallas-area singer and voice teacher Angela Turner Wilson, said Domingo groped her breast before a Washington Opera performance during the 1999-2000 season, when she was 28. Domingo, who was starring alongside her in "Le Cid," was the artistic director of the opera company.
"It hurt. It was not gentle," Wilson told the AP of Domingo, who is now 78 and general director of the Los Angeles Opera. "He groped me hard."
The 10 other women, who were not identified by name, recalled "unwanted touching, persistent requests for private get-togethers, late-night phone calls and sudden attempts to kiss them on the lips," the news agency reported.
Domingo's spokeswoman, Nancy Seltzer, denied the new allegations in a statement to the AP.
"The ongoing campaign by the AP to denigrate Placido Domingo is not only inaccurate but unethical," the statement read. "These new claims are riddled with inconsistencies and, as with the first story, in many ways, simply incorrect. Due to an ongoing investigation, we will not comment on specifics, but we strongly dispute the misleading picture that the AP is attempting to paint of Mr. Domingo."
The new allegations come less than a month after the AP initially reported that nine women, including eight singers and one dancer, said the Grammy award-winning star sexually harassed them within the past three decades. Three of the women said Domingo, kissed them on the lips without their consent, and another claimed that he "stuck his hand down her skirt," the AP reported. Seven of them believed that their careers suffered after they rejected Domingo, who has held managerial roles with various opera companies, according to the report.
Another six women accused Domingo of making "suggestive overtures," the report said. In addition, nearly three dozen people told the news agency that they have witnessed Domingo behaving inappropriately toward women.
The initial allegations sparked an investigation by the LA Opera into Domingo's behavior, the AP reported.
In a statement last month, Domingo denied the women's claims.
"The allegations from these unnamed individuals dating back as many as 30 years are deeply troubling, and as presented, inaccurate," the statement began. "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."
But Domingo added that "rules and standards by which we are – and should be – measured against today are very different than they were in the past."
His statement concluded: "I am blessed and privileged to have had a more than 50-year career in opera and will hold myself to the highest standards."
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Cox Media Group
