Faced with the increase in testimonies and complaints to public figures, the entertainment industry, for example, is paying more and more attention to the working relationship and public image that is had with an artist when he is accused of crimes sexual, violence, aggression, discriminatory, racist and hate speech situations or comments.
The lawyer and specialist, José Antonio Ávalos Gutiérrez, a professor at the Pan American University, explains various situations in which public figures and companies (television, radio, film, digital platforms and talent representation agencies) act when someone from their cast or crew is immersed in a complaint both on social media until it reaches the courts.
“In the case of public figures, from a labor perspective, is the ‘Special Jobs’ section, where there are specific rules for operating, but when it is a matter of harassment, harassment or any such reason , obviously follows the same rule -applied- for other workers -of any other heading-, which is a cause of termination of employment, which in this case, the producer or television can use to terminate an employment relationship with a figure public “.
As a result of the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, mostly male actors, singers, producers and directors have been accused and denounced by relatives, romantic couples, colleagues in the guild or projects in particular and by fans, for example, who have made public situations of physical, sexual, emotional aggression and abuse of power, to such an extent that figures like Harvey Weinstein have been imprisoned and completely disassociated from active projects of large content-creating companies.
“There are two perspectives, from the legal part in Mexico you are innocent until the opposite is shown. On social media they will be able to say whatever it is about me or any public figure, and from this merely legal perspective I am innocent until proven otherwise. From the social, media and commercial part to one television it hurts a lot to be promoting a work by someone who allegedly has to do with something bad, because people’s perception is that television is encouraging them to support someone who is behaving that is not socially correct. “
How to proceed?
In recent years, the entertainment industry in Mexico has turned the spotlight on its own entrails to see how the name and face of popular public figures are brought to social and legal trials with enough impact to truncate. a trajectory or a project in its entirety.
Figures like youtubers Ricardo González (Rix) or Yoseline Hoffman (YosStop), the presenter Andrés Roemer, actors com Eleazar Gómez, Ricardo Crespo, and recently Gonzalo Peña, suspended from the soap opera “What’s Happening to My Family?” (From producer Juan Osorio), have been reported to the authorities for alleged sexual offenses, ranging from equivalent rape, abuse of power, dissemination / storage of unauthorized content and / or complicity, for example, which has led to different platforms, producers and projects to end or suspend their employment and public relations, as also happened with José Manuel “Chumel” Torres, who derived from a controversy for comments considered racist and discriminatory, his program “Chumel with Chumel” in HBO Latin America was suspended from television.
“Is it advisable to stop the production of a project? The answer is depends, because you need to know the contract to know what the television requires and what economic impact has stopping a production for a publication – for example – on social media” .
The specialist points out that the causes of termination, in order to dismiss a worker, have been in the labor law since 1970, but in the case of public figures and their contractors such as television, sometimes it is not given as much weight in the labor part in front of the public image that both parties represent to each other and in front of the target audience.
“From a legal perspective, the public figure who considers the dismissed to be unfair, who should not have dismissed or suspended his project, obviously has an action or lawsuit against the television that has decided it (…) the public figure has a right before the labor courts to say that they ran it unjustifiably for an alleged publication of an alleged conduct he committed, but which is not credited. “
He adds that when the media follow up and pay more attention to the case of a celebrity, they also have a responsibility for the information that is shared and its origin and source, both the victim and the defendant and thus avoid future lawsuits. for defamation or moral damage.
The use of social networks
Lawyer José Antonio Ávalos Gutiérrez explains that reporting from social media, prior to a complaint to the relevant authorities, can trigger several factors that, on the one hand, offer a greater voice, a massive network of support and tools to the victim. and that the authorities respond or react quickly to the case, but it can also provide the same possibilities to the accused in the face of possible non-pecuniary damage when they fail to prove the facts alleged against him.
“On social media, if I post something against someone, there is obviously moral damage to the victim as well as to the public figure. If the public figure manages to prove that there was never any harm, that he never had such conduct of which they are denouncing, if during the trial it is found that it is not true that there was an issue of abuse , there is obviously moral damage to the public figure and he could sue for moral damage to anyone who exhibited it on social media and there should be reparation for the damage. “
He emphasizes that when an act of abuse jumps out publicly and there are public figures in the middle and the media follow up on both the victim and the accused, cases tend to be dealt with more quickly in front of the media involved: “The person being famous has more social impact on people and also the authorities are more profitable or profitable for them to make it known that they are doing their job well.”
The accessibility and immediacy with which one can jump to fame through digital platforms also implies new rules of the game for the person who aspires to be a public figure, as there is still no international legislation governing the dynamics. of the internet, each platform begins to strengthen the criteria of its content to avoid being involved in front of reported users if there are no direct employment contracts or obligations.
Keep that in mind
If you feel in danger and / or suffered sexual or gender-based aggression and want to report it, you can seek legal advice, psychological support, medical service and social work care, for example, at the Women’s Justice Center, located at 5869 Álvaro Alcázar Street, Jardins Alcalde neighborhood and at 3030-5450. Facebook: CentroDeJusticiaParaLasMujeresJalisco yen fiscalia.jalisco.gob.mx
