For example, given the proliferation of testimonials and complaints against public figures, the entertainment industry is increasingly paying attention to the employment relationship and public image one has with an artist when accused of sex crimes, violence, assault, discrimination, racist and hateful remarks or situations.
The lawyer and specialist, José Antonio Ávalos Gutiérrez, a professor at Universidad Panamericana, explains different situations about how public figures and companies (television, radio, film, digital platforms and talent representatives) act when someone from their cast or work team is submerged both in a complaint and on social networks until it comes to court.
“In the case of public figures, from a labor perspective, there is the section on ‘Special jobs’, where specific rules apply, but if it is a matter of harassment, intimidation or any other, of course the same rule – applied – for other employees – follows from every other category – which is a cause of termination of the employment contract, which in this case the producer or television station can use to terminate an employment relationship with a public figure ”.
As a result of the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, predominantly male actors, singers, producers and directors have been accused and convicted by family members, romantic partners, union or project colleagues and by fans who, for example, public situations of physical, sexual, emotional aggression and abuse of power, to the extent that figures like Harvey Weinstein have been imprisoned and totally disconnected from active content creation projects of major corporations.
“There are two perspectives, From the legal part in Mexico you are innocent until the opposite is shown. On social networks they can say anything about me or a public figure, and from this purely legal perspective, I am innocent until proven otherwise. From the social, media and commercial part to one television It touches a lot to advertise a work of someone who is said to be related to something bad, because people’s perception is that the television station encourages the support of someone who displays behavior that is not socially correct ”.
How do you proceed?
In recent years, Mexico’s entertainment industry has turned the spotlight on its own guts by seeing the names and faces of popular public figures brought into social and legal processes with enough impact to shorten a career or project in their lives . Whole.
Figures like youtuber Ricardo González (Rix) o Yoseline Hoffman (YosStop), the presenter Andres Roemer, actors like Eleazar Gomez, Ricardo Crespo, and recently Gonzalo Peña, suspended from the soap “What’s wrong with my family?” (from producer Juan Osorio), have been reported to the authorities for alleged sex crimes ranging from assimilated rape, abuse of power, distribution / storage of illicit content and / or complicity, leading to various platforms, production companies and projects to prevent their employment and public to end or suspend relationship, as happened with José Manuel “Chumel” Torres, who arose out of a controversy over comments considered racist and discriminatory, his “Chumel con Chumel” program on HBO Latin America was suspended by television .
“Is it advisable to stop the production of a project? The answer is: it depends, because you have to know the contract to know what the television channel is obliged to do and what the economic impact is of stopping production for a publication — for example — on social networks.
The specialist points out that the grounds for dismissal for firing an employee have been included in labor law since 1970, but in the case of public figures and their contractors, such as television stations, the proportion is sometimes not weighted as heavily. for the public image that both parties represent and for the target group.
“From a legal standpoint, the public figure who thinks the fired person is unfair, that they should not have fired him or should have suspended his project, has apparently taken action or litigated against the person. television who has decided (…) the public figure has the right to say before the labor courts that he has been unjustly fired for an alleged publication of an alleged conduct he has done, but is not accredited. “
It adds that when the media follows up on the case of a famous person and pays more attention, they are also responsible for the information shared and its origin and source, both for the victim and the accused, and thus future lawsuits for slander or moral harm.
Using social networks
The lawyer José Antonio Ávalos Gutiérrez states that reporting from social networks, prior to a complaint to the relevant authorities, can trigger several factors that on the one hand provide a larger voice, a huge network of support and tools towards the victim and that the authorities are present. or respond quickly to the case, but it can also give the accused the same options in case of possible moral damage when the accused facts cannot be proven.
“If I post something against someone on social networks, there is clearly moral damage to both the victim and the public figure. If the public figure succeeds in proving that there has never been any harm, that he has never had such behavior that they denounce him, if it is determined during the trial that it is not true that the abuse took place, obviously there is moral damage to the public figure and moral damage can be claimed from whoever exhibited it on social networks and the damage should be repaired ”.
It highlights that when an abuse jumps in public and involves public figures and the media follow-up, both the victim and the accused, things tend to be dealt with more quickly for the media of those involved: “The person who is famous has more social impact on people and also the authorities are more profitable or more profitable to publicize that they are doing their job well.”
The accessibility and immediacy with which you can become famous through digital platforms also implies new rules of the game for the person who wants to become a public figure, because while there is no international law regulating the dynamics of the internet, each is starting to meet the criteria of the content. to avoid getting involved with reported users when there are no contracts or direct employment obligations.
Remember that
If you feel at risk and / or are sexually or gender-related and you want to report it, you can request legal advice, psychological support, medical service and social work, for example at the Justice Center for Women, located at 5869 Álvaro Alcázar Street, Colonia Jardines Alcalde and by calling 3030-5450. Facebook: Justice Center for Women Jalisco and in fiscalia.jalisco.gob.mx
