Placido Domingo's #metoo moment

[Helene]

2 hours ago, On Pointe said:

Doesn't the opera company have a board of directors and legal counsel?  A singer could complain to them.  Or she could file a complaint with AGMA.  Or drop a dime on Domingo anonymously with an ambitious journalist.  

That worked really well for working actresses 30 years ago, too.

[volcanohunter]

12 hours ago, Mashinka said:

At the opera House this evening, incredulity and irritation, though one opera buff's explanation of why it's all tosh, gave me the biggest laughs I've had in a long time.  

Domingo doesn't deny the events took place. He merely insists the encounters were consensual. He doesn't deny pursuing women, and it's not for him to decide whether his propositions were welcome. So the accusations aren't "tosh."

On 8/14/2019 at 11:45 AM, Birdsall said:

Maybe this scandal will finally get him to retire. I think he should have retired around 2010 maybe even sooner. I used to be thrilled to hear him. Now when I find out he is in the cast for something I will fly up to see at the Met I cringe and hope he cancels. 

I agree wholeheartedly. I hope the scandal finally prompts him to leave the stage. It's something he should have done a very long time ago.

[vagansmom]

On her Facebook page, Sonya Yoncheva speaks in full support of Domingo.

[Mashinka]

48 minutes ago, volcanohunter said:

I hope the scandal finally prompts him to leave the stage. It's something he should have done a very long time ago

The last time he sang in London, in Traviata, he had to be prompted.  I think he should call it a day too.

[Roberta]

Domingo -- the last of the big-time spenders (not):

"One accuser claims that he left her $10 after one of the two times they had sex...I don't want you to have to pay to park..."

https://nypost.com/2019/08/13/opera-legend-placido-domingo-accused-of-serial-sexual-harassment/

Edited August 15, 2019 by Roberta

[Birdsall]

I have told this story before on BA, but after reading this thread I feel I need to tell it again. 

 I was taken advantage of by a doctor after a long illness in college. I was at my wit's end being misdiagnosed by many people and I was GRATEFUL to finally get the right diagnosis and the right medication by an emergency room doctor who then suggested a doctor for a follow-up. Frame of mind plays a role. I am giving my story so that some people on this thread know that it is not just black and white. I went to the follow up doctor who helped me completely recover. I was grateful to the emergency room doctor as well as the follow up doctor. I felt sane after months of being told nothing is wrong with me. I thought, "Finally, I have a great doctor!" Well, a phone message was left on my machine (back in the days when we had answering machines. It sounded urgent and to call right away. I called and the nurse said the doctor wanted to see me right away. I was worried. I thought my blood work had uncovered some other new problem. I rushed over to his office. He went over my blood work and it was fine. Then, he said since I am a new patient he needed to do a full physical. I agreed assuming it was all legit. I won't go into details but it included hernia check and prostate check. Everything seemed to take too long and at some point I got aroused. He then asked if he could give me a "medical massage." My immediate thought was, "Okay, up until now I have been pretty stupid, but I am not THAT stupid to think this is a medical massage!" But to be honest I agreed to it. 

I left his office feeling horrible. I kept saying, "Why do I feel so awlful? I agreed."  My jogging buddy back then found out and told me I must have been wanting it to happen. Another friend said the same thing. By sheer coincidence I had a counseling appointment the next day and she was outraged and gave me a number to call when doctors cross the line (sex, drugs, drinking). I took the number but did not call. She did help me understand what I was upset about. She said, "How can you ever go back to this doctor for sound medical advice?" 

I think I considered calling the number for weeks, but I just didn't want to ruin the doctor's career. I thought, "Except for crossing the line he seems like a good doctor, but I have to admit I don't want to go back to him." I was actually "okay" with what happened AFTER I agreed to go through with the altercation, but I was upset that I was set up and manipulated into becoming aroused during a medical exam, and it was all planned out. 

Maybe a month or two later I received a letter from his office saying he has consulted with his wife and decided to close his practice. Up until then I thought I was the only one. Maybe it was the one and only time he acted on homosexual feeling and I felt sorry for him. But I suddenly thought, "What if he's doing this to men, women, and CHILDREN???? What if he's in trouble and someone needs another witness to step forward?"  So I finally called that number and reported him. 

My point is that it is NOT black and white. People have very mixed feelings. Sometimes you actually don't want to harm the person's career if you think it was a one time slip on the person's part. But when you find out others had the same problem then you want to speak up......not for money at all......but to help others. 

Domingo is not a doctor, but a famous artist who you admire holds a lot of power over how you feel about the person. I can totally picture someone even going through with sleeping with him or letting him touch her inappropriately and hoping it is the one and only time. And if they tell even their close friends they will say, "You wanted it!" like my two friends did. 

People who haven't experienced it do not understand and probably never will. 

Nothing in life is black and white. There's no "You do this or you do that. Case closed."  There is no, "You either report it immediately or shut up."   

I also personally feel like I was harassed at my previous job (not sexually) and I finally left. I feel like the boss should have been fired. I complained to everyone I could (people above the boss, people on my level). I did not stay quiet. I watched as people who I thought were friends start to avoid me because I was not getting along with the administrator. Yes, sometimes we choose to "go," but we shouldn't have to go. The one harassing should be the one to go. What happens is that the harassing person often has "favorites" who think the world of that person, and that is that person's PROOF that you are just a troublemaker. 

 

[dirac]

36 minutes ago, Roberta said:

Domingo -- the last of the big-time spenders (not):

"One accuser claims that he left her $10 after one of the two times they had sex...I don't want you to have to pay to park..."

https://nypost.com/2019/08/13/opera-legend-placido-domingo-accused-of-serial-sexual-harassment/

She was expecting more (?) I don't think that was the point of the anecdote.....

[On Pointe]

9 hours ago, Helene said:

That worked really well for working actresses 30 years ago, too.

A lot has changed in thirty years.  For one thing,  social media didn't exist back then.  At any rate,  I'll be interested to see if this revelation about Domingo inspires arts writers to publish condemnatory  articles about the culture of the opera world similar to the way that ballet was attacked.

[dirac]

3 hours ago, Mashinka said:

The last time he sang in London, in Traviata, he had to be prompted.  I think he should call it a day too.

In fact, if he'd done so earlier, none of this might ever have come to light. As it is, however, I'm guessing he won't want to go out on this note unless it becomes absolutely necessary. 

[Roberta]

1 hour ago, dirac said:

She was expecting more (?) I don't think that was the point of the anecdote.....

 

I know. The entire anecdote, with quotes, is in the story, to which I gave the link. So he was a "gentleman" because he prefaced the $10 quip by saying that he doesn't want her to feel like a prostitute and explained that it was for parking? Good grief, a jerk is a jerk is a jerk.

[Helene]

1 hour ago, On Pointe said:

11 hours ago, Helene said:

That worked really well for working actresses 30 years ago, too.

A lot has changed in thirty years.

Some has changed and some has not.  One thing that's changed is that when these singers were active, many decades ago, reporting to AGMA or to upper management was, essentially useless and a career-killer, and that the women speaking now are no longer in the business, so going to the Board where Domingo was top dog or to the General Director where he wasn't, isn't  relevant, because they stopped being employed.

As far as finding a journalist, either they did or a journalist found them, because the AP article I was published, and it didn't read like something that had been pushed out without painstaking research and legal review.

[dirac]

3 hours ago, Roberta said:

I know. The entire anecdote, with quotes, is in the story, to which I gave the link. So he was a "gentleman" because he prefaced the $10 quip by saying that he doesn't want her to feel like a prostitute and explained that it was for parking? Good grief, a jerk is a jerk is a jerk.

I was merely puzzled by the "big spender (not)" comment, which seemed odd IMO, given the context. I have already read the article, thanks.

[On Pointe]

3 hours ago, Helene said:

Some has changed and some has not.  One thing that's changed is that when these singers were active, many decades ago, reporting to AGMA or to upper management was, essentially useless and a career-killer, and that the women speaking now are no longer in the business, so going to the Board where Domingo was top dog or to the General Director where he wasn't, isn't  relevant, because they stopped being employed.

As far as finding a journalist, either they did or a journalist found them, because the AP article I was published, and it didn't read like something that had been pushed out without painstaking research and legal review.

I got the impression from the article that Domingo's behavior was ongoing and current,  not that it was confined to decades ago.  Patricia Wulf,  who is no longer active,  was the only one willing to go public,  but apparently there are plenty of others who are still fearful of Domingo's influence.  Otherwise why would the story explode now?

[Helene]

There are allegations that it is still ongoing, but that doesn't mean the women are currently performing.  

Susanne Mentzer, hardly a nobody in the opera world, described in a 2017 article why she said nothing in what seems like a repeat of the same explanation that hundreds of thousands of women have written or commented on or posted across internet and social media:

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_12418352

There are similar reasons that every figure skater who accused John Coughlin publicly did so after they were out of the sport.  There are similar reasons why every gymnast who went to the police about Larry Nassar was no longer in the sport, and why active gymnasts stopped filing complaints when zero happened after they escalated to Michigan State administrators -- employees of tax-payers -- who dismissed and buried their complaints.  Biles is about the only active gymnast who is untouchable, and she came out with her story only after hundreds of other retired athletes did.

When someone or an organization has control over your profession, and the standards are non-professional ones, you should not have to be a hero or a human sacrifice to get action.  Even if you are initially flattered by someone's interest and attention.

[nanushka]

1 hour ago, On Pointe said:

Otherwise why would the story explode now?

Because a little under two years ago the cultural and media climate shifted pretty suddenly and such stories began to be given considerably more weight — and alleged victims/accusers began to be treated (at least by many, though certainly not all) with considerably more respect and to face less backlash (though certainly not none) and because a major exposé such as the AP’s takes months to report out.

[vendangeuse]

11 hours ago, vagansmom said:

On her Facebook page, Sonya Yoncheva speaks in full support of Domingo.

As does Javier Camarena on Instagram. Disappointing from both, each of whom are gifted artists and whose performances I have enjoyed very much. 

 

 

[nanushka]

Would anyone be able to copy and post here the text of Yoncheva’s FB post? I don’t think I can view it there without reactivating my account and I really don’t want to do that. Thanks much!

Edited August 15, 2019 by nanushka

[California]

9 minutes ago, nanushka said:

Would anyone be able to copy and post here the text of Yoncheva’s FB post? I don’t think I can view it there without reactivating my account and I really don’t want to do that. Thanks much!

This is on her public Facebook page: 

SONYA YONCHEVA is with Nicolas Levastre and Julia Aguirre.

12 hrs · 

A real gentleman, philanthropist, artist, charming and peaceful human being, who is devoted to the new generation of singers in the most humble and respectful way. I know Placido for nearly 10 years and it was, it is always a great pleasure to work with him. You can rarely find today a person who respects more his job, his colleagues, the team of each theater and his fans. An irreplaceable figure in our industry, he, more than anybody else, proved that a successful career depends only on your work and your talent, nothing else can help it or destroy it! Placido Domingo

[nanushka]

Thanks so much, @California!

[Helene]

Another "nobody" weighs in on sexual harassment in the opera workplace:

 

[cubanmiamiboy]

On 8/14/2019 at 7:18 AM, Mashinka said:

Were he still alive, Rudolf Nureyev would have answered that question.

Alicia Alonso certainly can....

[cubanmiamiboy]

10 hours ago, Birdsall said:

And if they tell even their close friends they will say, "You wanted it!" like my two friends did. 

 

I always have a problem with the consensual part of all this affairs of sexual harassment.  There's always the option to say "No" to an attempt at someone trying to jump on one's bed. And many times the attempts are consensually reciprocated and later on called harassment. I find that very wrong .

[nanushka]

17 minutes ago, cubanmiamiboy said:

I always have a problem with the consensual part of all this affairs of sexual harassment.  There's always the option to say "No" to an attempt at someone trying to jump on one's bed.

The whole point of workplace sexual harassment law is that, in relations with coworkers, superiors, etc., that "option" is not really a matter a free choice without consequences. In the context of an abuse of power, a sexual relationship can no longer be truly "consensual."

Edited August 16, 2019 by nanushka

[canbelto]

If someone has power to fire you and ruin your career, "consent" becomes moot. There's too much power over one person. 

[cubanmiamiboy]

4 hours ago, canbelto said:

If someone has power to fire you and ruin your career, "consent" becomes moot. There's too much power over one person. 

Ok...so it then becomes a matter of "Do I sleep with him and get the job or not ..?"