Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star Tenoch Huerta has been charged with sexual assault. In a series of tweets published on Saturday, musician and activist María Elena Ríos called Ríos Huerta a “violator and sex offender” and accused him of assaulting her. The AV Club has reached out to Ríos for comment.
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Ríos made the allegations in a thread that also condemned the activist organization Poder Prieto for protecting Huerta after the organization — a collective of actors and media figures working against racism in the entertainment industry — aired an episode of the podcast “El Feisbuk de la Malinche” had shared. with Rios. Ríos, a former member of Poder Prieto, claimed the group aired the podcast without her consent and never compensated her for her work either. (Poder Prieto did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The AV Club.)
After Poder Prieto replied with his own defenseRíos accused the organization of protecting Huerta, one of their voice actors, arguing that they didn’t actually air the episode and only promoted it. When a Twitter user asked Ríos if Huerta attacked her, Ríos replied affirmative.
“It’s very difficult to talk about the emotional abuse and abuse of power by a sex offender who is loved around the world for playing a character in a movie like Tenoch Huerta,” Ríos said tweeted tag the actor on saturday. Huerta’s portrayal of the antagonist and king of Atlantis, Namor, in Wakanda Forever has led to the actor being praised for expanding the on-screen representation of black indigenous peoples; He also starred in The Forever Purge and Narcos: Mexico.
Read Ríos’ thread below, originally shared in Spanish:
[Update June 12, 12:53 pm]: In an email to The AV Club, Huerta’s publicist shared the following statement:
A false and totally unfounded accusation against me has spread like wildfire – and I can no longer let it go unchallenged.
About a year ago, I dated Elena for several months. It was completely consensual at all times, as countless others can attest. And it was a loving, warm, and mutually supportive relationship. After the ending, however, Elena began misrepresenting our interactions both privately and in front of groups of mutual friends.
For this reason, a few months ago I hired a team of lawyers to take the appropriate measures to protect my reputation and refute these irresponsible and false allegations that can cause great prejudice and damage.
While I’m by no means perfect, I know these claims are simply untrue. And while I will always work to improve, I must dispute claims that are both false and offensive.
I am deeply grateful to my family and the people who have supported me, and I appreciate anyone who is willing to look at the facts and think before jumping to an untrue and unfair conclusion.