Mediaset España has decided to end its professional relationship with Alessandro Lequio after his ex-wife, Antonia Dell’Atte, again publicly accused him of sexist violence in an interview with El País.
The network made the decision on Wednesday after analyzing court documents related to the alleged facts and meeting with the production company Unicorn Content, responsible for Vamos a ver, and with Dell’Atte’s legal representatives.
The reason why Alessandro Lequio was fired
Mediaset’s decision was not made on the spur of the moment. As reported by El País, the company once again reviewed the court documents provided by Antonia Dell’Atte’s defense, including an order from Madrid’s Court of Instruction No. 35, dated July 1991.
In that proceeding, the libel complaint that Lequio had filed against his then wife was dismissed. The judge concluded that the “exceptio veritatis” (the exception of truth) was applicable, meaning that the evidence and testimony presented were sufficient to consider that Dell’Atte was not lying when she described him as an abuser.
Sources close to Mediaset assure that this document was decisive for the network. The meeting held with Unicorn Content on Wednesday served to definitively close its dissociation, a process that was accelerated after the last internal review of the judicial material.
How did Antonia Dell’Atte’s complaint go?
Antonia Dell’Atte’s statements have not taken the media sector by surprise. The accusations of mistreatment towards Lequio have been present in the public conversation for years.
In the interview with El País, the former model recalled that her original complaint was filed in 1991, although some time later she decided to withdraw it. Even so, the court order recognized that her claims had sufficient basis to be considered truthful.
The controversy resurfaced in 2004, when Lequio denounced his ex-wife for slander after she insisted on calling him “abuser” in different public interventions. Dell’Atte then relied on the lawyer Cristina Almeida, who presented decisive evidence so that the case was shelved again.
The interview published in October completely reactivated the debate, leading Mediaset to review the background in detail before making a decision.
Alessandro Lequio’s career path
Lequio’s departure puts an end to a long television career: since the nineties, the aristocrat has been one of the most constant collaborators of Spanish television, especially in social and current affairs programs. He has been part of the team of Mediaset’s emblematic programs, establishing himself as a recurring figure on the sets of both Telecinco and Cuatro.
His presence in Vamos a ver, the morning show presented by Joaquín Prat, was a natural continuity after years of participation in previous formats. The termination of her collaboration marks a turning point in her television career, which until now had only experienced changes due to programming adjustments, never for disciplinary or ethical reasons.
