Ricky Martin has reportedly filed a $20 million lawsuit against his 21-year-old nephew after the younger man made false allegations of abuse.
Martin’s lawyers claim the allegations made by Dennis Yadiel Sanchez have cost the singer and actor millions in lost income.
Court papers were filed yesterday in San Juan, Puerto Rico, by Martin’s legal team. They accuse the nephew of extortion, malicious persecution, abuse of law and damages stemming from false allegations.
Related: Ricky Martin speaks out after big day in court over nephew’s sexual abuse claims
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Sanchez first filed for a restraining order against his uncle in July. It included allegations of a romantic relationship between them and domestic abuse.
Martin vowed to fight the claims, with a legal representative calling them “completely false and fabricated.”
At a court hearing later that month, the restraining order against Martin was dropped, at the request of his accuser.
At the time, Ricky Martin’s legal team said, “The request came from the accuser asking to dismiss the case. This was never anything more than a troubled individual making false allegations with absolutely nothing to substantiate them. We are glad that our client saw justice done and can now move forward with his life and his career.”
“Persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted”
Yesterday’s lawsuit says Martin was “persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted” by his “troubled” nephew for economic reasons.
It says before the filing of the restraining order, Martin’s nephew bombarded his famous uncle with up to ten text messages a day. It refers to him as a “maladjusted individual.”
The lawsuit claims Martin suffered $10m in lost income as a result of canceled contracts. It estimates the damages to his reputation to be in the region of $20million.
Related: Ricky Martin has a whole lot more to say about that nephew ordeal in first video response
It says that after dropping the restraining order, Martin’s nephew started messaging him again via Instagram, threatening to “assassinate his reputation and integrity” unless he paid him money. Martin’s new lawsuit was first reported by TMZ.
Martin’s lawsuit is also asking a judge to bar his nephew from contacting him or anyone else in his immediate family.
abfab
I feel for Ricky, I do. But we have another more important QUEEN to think about at the present time.
Gianni862
That’s not really funny just juvenile and dumb. Get a grip …
ljbivins
Such a punk.
CatholicXXX
Very very few people care about the “queen” in question.
Fahd
First, I recommend Ricky block his nephew’s texts. But seriously, I’m sure that Ricky has tried to resolve this problem discreetly, but some people. What else can Ricky do to maintain his good name? The lawsuit doesn’t seem like a “wild turn”, but rather a necessary step to preserve his reputation and sanity.
cuteguy
Basically Ricky wants the hush money back that he paid the nephew to drop the restraining order
abfab
Only 20 million? Damn Ricky, you work cheap.
Winsocki
where is that fool nephew going to get millions? You might as well sue a homeless person.
ZzBomb
Was thinking the same thing. The kid doesn’t appear to have 2 cents to rub together and Martin’s lawyers seem to think they can squeeze $20Mil out of him? I would have walked away and cut that side of my family off entirely.
jackscott
This not a good look for Ricky. If the claims were not true just walk away knowing the truth. The lawsuit will only become more ugly.
LegionKeign
No, now his nephew will have to show proof.
And since there is NO proof, this will clear Ricky’s name.
It’s the smart thing to do and I’m sure his lawyers told him so. Besides he has his children to think about. Would you want the stigma of being accused of such nastiness over your head or for your babies to have to live through that growing up?
bachy
A relentless stalker can ruin decades of a person’s life. Unlike the average person, Ricky’s got the clout to sue the sh|t-stirring psycho nephew into oblivion. We’ll see if it works. Stalkers can be very difficult to shake off. They’re very It Follows (2014).
Caelestius
Ricky is right to fight back. It’s painful to have a family fight in public, and it’s painful to watch it. But here’s the hitch–gay men have been falsely categorized and suffered ugly accusations as child molesters for centuries. We’ll never even know the number of times innocent gay men were blackmailed, since staying closeted or felony-free was once a job-breaker or even a life-ender. Never, ever, again should we passively accept this putrid, disgusting tactic to wring the blood from our souls, as if our lives, careers, personhood & moral integrity matter less than someone’s revenge fantasy or get-rich scheme.
Fight for us all, Ricky!