Marvel star Tenoch Huerta, who played the anti-hero Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, has denied allegations of sexual assault made against him by his ex-girlfriend.
In a statement obtained by Variety and also shared to his official Instagram account this week, Huerta, 42, called musician and activist María Elena Ríos’ allegations “false and unsubstantiated”.
“I cannot let it go unchallenged any longer,” Huerta said in his statement.
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“About a year ago, I dated Elena for several months,” he claimed. “It was entirely consensual at all times, as countless others can attest. And throughout it was a loving, warm and mutually supportive relationship.”
“After it ended, however, Elena began to misrepresent our interactions both privately and in front of groups of mutual friends,” Huerta alleged.
Huerta claimed that a few months ago he had hired a legal team ”to commence the appropriate actions to protect my reputation and refute these irresponsible and false accusations that can cause great prejudice and damage”.
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“Although I am by no means perfect, I know that these allegations are simply untrue. And while I will always work to improve myself, I need to contest claims that are both false and offensive,” Huerta added.
Ríos referred to Huerta as a “sexual predator” in several tweets shared on June 10 and said in a tweet on June 13 that she “cannot answer [Huerta’s] statement calmly” due to her activism and lobbying work.
She has been an anti-femicide activist following a 2019 acid attack organised by her ex-boyfriend, who is an influential politician in Mexico, which left her permanently maimed.
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”I am deeply grateful to my family and the people who have supported me and greatly appreciate everyone who is willing to look at the facts and reflect before rushing to an untrue and unjust conclusion,” Huerta also said in his statement.
Marvel has not commented on the allegations against Huerta, and it is unclear if he will reprise his role as Namor again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Huerta is the second Marvel star in recent months to be accused of violence against women – actor Jonathan Majors, who plays the villain Kang the Conqueror in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was charged with domestic violence offences stemming from an alleged incident in March.
Majors has also denied the allegations against him, and Marvel has also not publicly addressed the claims against Majors nor his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).