He presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella mustby order of a judge, apologize for the statements he made during an interview on the Piso 8 program, considering that reproduced gender stereotypes and violated fundamental rights of women.
The controversy arose during the informal program Floor 8when the lawyer made comments about his physical appearance and him asked the communicator to bring a photograph on your mobile phone.
Jhovanoty and Abelardo de la Espriella in the program. Photo:Courtesy
Now, in the decision was adopted by the 129th Municipal Criminal Court with Bogotá Knowledge Function when solving a guardianship action promoted by Tatiana Echavarría Arangowho questioned the comments made by De la Espriella during a conversation with the journalist Laura Rodríguez.
According to the failedAfter fully analyzing the video provided to the file, the office concluded that the candidate’s expressions linked women’s voting intention with physical attraction towards a presidential candidate, based on a photograph spread by himself on social networks. For the judge, the constitutional problem was not in the humorous or informal tone of the interview, but in the message that it projected on the political decision-making capacity of women.
“In the opinion of the Office, the constitutional problem does not lie in the use of colloquial, humorous or informal language. Nor in the fact that the interview had taken place within a political entertainment format. What is constitutionally relevant is that the transmitted message projects the idea according to which the Women would make political decisions motivated by physical attraction towards a candidate and not from rational, programmatic or ideological considerations typical of a autonomous citizenship“says the decision.
The providence sustains that the statements conveyed the idea that the Women would make electoral decisions motivated by physical appearance of a candidate and not by programmatic, ideological or rational criteria. In the court’s opinion, that representation reproduces stereotypes historically used for delegitimize female political participation.
Judge orders Abelardo de la Espriella to publicly apologize. Photo:Private Archive.
During the process, the organization El Veinte and the District Secretariat for Women also intervened, entities that agreed to point out that the questioned expressions contributed to the objectification of women and minimized their political autonomy.
The judge highlighted that gender-based political violence does not necessarily require insults or direct attacks to take place. According to the ruling, it is enough for a speech to reproduce patterns of exclusion, objectification or subordination with respect to women as political subjects.
The decision also emphasizes that De la Espriella, due to his status as a presidential candidate and public figure with millions of followers, has reinforced duties of diligence and responsibility in the exercise of freedom of expression.
“Being funny, charismatic, jocular or outgoing differs enormously from the use of satire or jokes to reproduce gender stereotypes”said the judge when referring to the statements made during the interview.
The presidential candidate, Abelardo de la Espriella. Photo:Juan Pablo Rueda Bustamante
The office also considered it especially serious that during the interview the candidate looked for a photograph on his cell phone and showed it to journalist Laura Rodríguez, asking her to zoom in on the image.
According to the ruling, the communicator felt uncomfortable and pressured to interact with content that the ruling describes as “morbid.” situation that, in the judge’s opinion, affected their rights and constituted an episode that should not have occurred.
The decision also questioned the reaction of the other men present in the studio, including the director and producer of the program, who remained silent. faced the situation and even made it easier for the journalist to observe the image in greater detail.
Presidential candidate Abelardo de la Espriella. Photo:CEET
The presidential candidate’s campaign sent the publication that the lawyer made on his X account on May 13:
“I understand that, although there was no intention on my part to offend, much less disrespect, if a woman feels uncomfortable, a gentleman has a moral obligation to apologize.
When I joked with journalist Laura Rodríguez on the Jhovanoty program, on Piso 8, I did not do it in bad faith or to make her feel bad, much less to harass her in front of thousands of viewers. Everything happened in a humorous context and as part of the game that was taking place in a comedy program about my private parts and about a supposed silicone implant, mentioned by the hosts. I simply followed that line with another joke, without malice or morbidity, sucking cock, as I usually do, with a photo that is on my social networks.
My sincere apologies, Laura. I’m sorry”.
Justice Editorial
