There are certain unpleasant things that go hand-in-hand with being famous - assumptions about your life, the occasional false rumour and people generally thinking they know you, based on your public persona.
However, being accused of incest, as Ricky Martin recently was, is on the more drastic end of the scale for anyone.
Ricky Martin is now suing the nephew who accused him of an incestuous relationship - which he was cleared of last month.
Martin filed court documents in his native Puerto Rico yesterday, claiming that he is "being persecuted, besieged, harassed, stalked and extorted by a maladjusted person" who is seeking to "obtain an economic benefit" or "assassinate his reputation and integrity."
He is seeking $20 million in damages from the accuser, his 21-year-old nephew Dennis Yadiel Sánchez Martin.
Sánchez Martin has alleged that he had had a 7-month-long relationship with his uncle, and when it ended, claimed the pop star had harassed and psychologically abused him. At the time the story broke, the accuser was unnamed and it was only later that it was revealed to be the pop star's brother's son.
Martin denied the allegations via his lawyer, who said "Ricky Martin has, of course, never been — and would never be — involved in any kind of sexual or romantic relationship with his nephew. The idea is not only untrue, it is disgusting. We all hope that this man gets the help he so urgently needs." All charges were later dropped and Martin said that it had been "devastating for me, for my family, for my friends. I don't wish this upon anybody."
The court documents filed yesterday also claim that Dennis had been publicly boasting about being Martin's nephew and inundating him with messages on WhatsApp and Instagram, and had even posted his phone number on social media. Martin's lawyers asked the court to order his nephew to "immediately refrain from communicating with Plaintiff and his family, either personally, by telephone and/or through social networks."
