A journalist was allegedly sexually assaulted live on air by a man on the street in an incident which has sparked public outrage in Spain.
Isa Balado was reporting on a robbery in Madrid for the Cuatro channel when a man approached her and appeared to grope her bottom on camera.
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The programme’s host Nacho Abad asked Balado to show the man, who he called an “idiot,” on camera.
“As much as you want to ask what channel we are from, do you really have to touch my bottom? I’m doing a live show and I’m working,” Balado told him.
The man then denied touching her, and attempted to touch her head as he walked away.
Spanish police said in a message on X, formerly Twitter, that a man had been arrested on Tuesday for sexually assaulting a reporter.
Spain’s Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz commented on the incident on X, saying it should not go unpunished. “It is machismo that makes journalists suffer sexual assaults like this, and the aggressors are unrepentant in front of the camera.”
The incident comes after huge debate and controversy in Spain over the head of the country’s football federation kissing a player at the women’s World Cup last month.
Luis Rubiales has now resigned as the president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation after kissing Jenni Hermoso on the lips. He is due in court later this week to testify on the incident.
