It has been more than a month since Jose Miguel Viñuela unleashed a snowball that grew in an unexpected way. On July 16, the animator cut the hair of cameraman José Miranda without authorization while Pleasure it was live and direct.
The “joke” not only forced him to offer a public apology but also put him in the eye of the hurricane, which ended up costing him the exit of Mega Yu’s morning.A lawsuit for 100 million pesos against him.
The legal action, initiated by Miranda, was sponsored by the lawyer Roberto Ávila and filed on July 20. “With this action we seek to restore the right to dignity of people, whatever their social, economic or professional condition,” the lawyer told BioBioChile.
“We want the court to declare that an abusive and arrogant act was committed that seriously undermined the dignity of a cameraman, from a person who is face and is in a situation of superiority,” he added.
A week ago Viñuela was notified of the claim for compensation for damages filed before the 23rd Civil Court of Santiago, where he appealed to the “moral damage” suffered that affected “self-esteem, image, dignity to which everyone has the right.”
In the lawsuit, the cameraman tells that he has been working for Mega for five years and that on July 16, he was on duty at the morning he was driving to Diana Bolocco, Soledad Onetto, Michelle Adam and Viñuela.
“Sometimes the animators enter into dialogues with the cameramen or support personnel with the idea of making the programs more dynamic or giving them a humorous touch. Those of us who work on this accept it, although it is not a contractual obligation, because like all good (sic) workers we want the product we work on to turn out well. This was started in Chile by the animator Felipe Camiroaga, but always and of course the dialogue with cameramen or support personnel was respectful and without violating their dignity, ”explains the professional in the legal text, according to La Tercera.
“In this case things were very different because mr. Viñuela after making very bad taste allusions to my personal hygiene, pointed out that I was a carrier of oronavirus, A subject that is dramatic for Chile and the world, he pointed out that I had to cut my hair, “he added.
“I wear long hair and what is called a ponytail. I am perfectly clean and this is an image and a way that is cared for… One of the ways to violate Human Rights used in countries where Human Rights are violated is precisely to cut the hair of those who want to subjugate or repress ”, he said.
One thought that this type of television was outdated, too bad it wasn’t …
JM Viñuela – playing funny in #MuchoGustoMega– takes a scissors and cuts the hair of a live worker (cameraman) amid teasing. The face of the poor guy and present is puzzled: pic.twitter.com/6MCpHQ11C1
– Illustrated vagabundo (@vagoilustrado) July 16, 2020
As it was seen on the screen, Miranda said that previously another member of the team had pretended to cut her hair, which although she did not feel comfortable, she did not consider it “so offensive”.
“I perceived that a parody was being made but then Viñuela appeared, took the scissors and pointed out that it was necessary to cut my hair, while continuing with expressions that were insulting to me related to the coronavirus. At one point I felt a tug that suggested the possibility that he was cutting my hair, but he released it for a moment, to make me believe that he was not doing it, I remained seated so as not to spoil what I thought was a joke “, he recalled .
“Mr. Viñuela has a very special way of understanding humor, because she does it without any respect for people. On one occasion he slapped a person and on another he spat on his shirt, all this going on the air “, he sentenced.
Miranda added that she realized that Viñuela had indeed cut 40 centimeters of hair only after the fact. “I was stunned, because I had already done it, we were going on the air and what could I do?” He acknowledged.
“In a television channel the so-called ‘faces’ like mr. Viñuela are in a plane of superiority compared to a cameraman like me. I understand that mr. Viñuela earns 50 million pesos a month. It is as if a star soccer player enters into a dispute with a prop ”, sentenced.
To this he added that: “for the activity I am a nobody. This is so obvious, the abuse of power, arrogance, that a single hypothesis is enough to graph it. Could mr. Viñuela go to the cheerleader Diana Bolocco and cut her hair on camera without her will? I am a simple cameraman ”.
“Mr. Viñuela acted from the power that comes from knowing that I am a cameraman, that to take care of my job, I could not but look at it. I was harassed and humiliated on television in front of hundreds of thousands of people, this was reproduced by millions on social networks ”, he said.
The lawsuit also clarifies one of the main questions so far: Viñuela would have acted without orders from anyone. “This was not something ordered or prescribed by the Megavisión channel, but it is there as part of reality. I want to expressly state that I do not claim against the Megavisión channel since it is evident that this conduct of mr. Viñuela has not been ordered to do so and does not correspond to the channel’s orientations ”, he assured.
After the live episode, Miranda was taken to the channel’s hairdresser to where the animator arrived “and the mockery continued. The humiliation that I suffered before the whole country shocked me and I am currently undergoing medical treatment and medications.
The legal process will require the statements of witnesses of the moment such as the former executive producer of the program Pablo Alvarado, in addition to Bolocco, Onetto and Adam.
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