Photo: Jason Mendez for Tribeca Film Festival / Getty Images
By: Showbiz Updated 23 Jun 2022, : 23 pm WBS
The former member of Menudo Angelo García stated that he was “raped a number of times ” during his time in the boy band. The singer, who only had years when he joined the group in 1988, he stated that “predators” took advantage of him and was the subject of multiple sexual assaults during his two years with the band.
“During my time at Menudo I was raped a series of times, and that was the way predators took advantage of me”, commented Ángelo, who went into detail about an alleged sexual assault, which according to him it took place in his hotel room after an undisclosed man gave him alcohol.
According to the newspaper New York Post , Garcia said in the HBO docuseries Max “Menudo: Forever Young”: “All I remember is that I passed out. When I woke up, I was naked and bleeding, so I knew I had been penetrated. I had like, these burn marks on my face from the carpet… I was very confused and didn’t understand.”
Other members of the group, who told with 32 different members -including Ricky Martin– along 20 years, they also stated that were subjected to sexual abuse, as well as intimidation, oppressive working conditions and drug scandals while working under the representative Edgardo Díaz, who was described as “his manager, producer and surrogate father. Ray Acevedo, who has been part of the group since 1985 until 1988, said: “We were pawns in his business.”
Ray remembered Ricky – hitmaker as “Livin’ la vida loca”– as the group’s “golden boy” from the moment he joined in 1984. But the singer, who was not interviewed for the four-part series, could reportedly be “brutal” to the other members.
Sergio Blass -who was expelled from Often in 1990 together with Rubén Gómez after they were arrested for possession of marijuana – said: “Being with Ricky was brutal, because he had more seniority than me. So, if someone knocked on the door, I had to open it. If the phone rang, I had to answer it. I was like his housewife”.
Sergio he also recalled how the band “freaked out” when those around him exposed them to drugs: “We were once in Colombia. I’m with Ruben and we’re arriving at the hotel. We entered our room. All of a sudden, this random guy walks in… And pulls out what must have been a kilo of cocaine… So we freaked out, because we didn’t know this person … But the guy was actually one of the producers and promoters.” Edgardo Díaz did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations of the documentary, but he has always denied any abuse or wrongdoing in his management of the group.
1990
You may also like:
-‘Menudo: Forever Young’ by HBO Max is the documentary that narrates the success and fall of the musical group
-Menudo pays tribute to its former member Ray Reyes, who passed away last April