Ricky Martin’s former band members have opened up about being abused by their manager, alleging that they were raped as youngsters.
Ex stars of Menudo, who were formed by Edgardo Diaz in 1977, have spoken about their experiences in a new HBO Max documentary, titled Menudo: Forever Young.
The harrowing four-part mini-series premiered on June 23 and saw former members speak to the camera about the alleged abuse.
Singer Angelo Garcia joined the group when he was 11, in 1988, before leaving two years later – and claimed that he was raped ‘a series of times’ during the time.
According to the New York Post, he recalled being in a hotel room with an unnamed man, who gave him alcohol until he ‘passed out’.
‘When I woke up, I was naked and I was bleeding, so I knew that I had been penetrated,’ he said.
Angelo Garcia appeared in a new documentary, Menudo: Forever Young (Picture: Getty)
‘I had these burn marks on my face from the rug … I was very confused and I didn’t understand.’
Menudo was originally formed with two sets of brothers, with their debut album dropping in 1977.
The original line-up consisted of Fernando and Nefty Sallaberry, and Carlos, Oscar and Ricky Melendez – but the line-up saw many changes over the years.
Menudo, pictured here in 1984, went through many line-up changes (Picture: Getty)
Others in the band spoke of the sexual abuse they faced in the documentary – discussing drug use, exploitation and bullying, as well as negligence. Many claimed that they were not supervised while in Menudo, and were exposed to drugs by many around them.
Andy Blázquez, who was a member for six years until 1997, claimed that he faced ‘extreme sexualization’ in the group ‘from the very beginning’.
‘Like overly sexualized jokes that you shouldn’t say in front of children,’ he told the camera. ‘I remember Edgardo saying, “You know the pleasure that you get when you’re pooping? That’s what anal sex feels like”.’
Others alleged that they were subjected to ‘hazing’ by some members of the group who have not been named.
Ricky Martin was in the group for five years – he did not appear in the documentary (Picture: Getty)
Ricky Martin was the most famous member of Menudo, joining the group in 1984 when he was 12.
He retired in 1989, aged 17, and went on to have a huge music career outside of the group, with songs including Livin’ la Vida Loca, She Bangs and Nobody Wants To Be Lonely.
Ricky did not appear in the documentary and has not spoken publicly about the allegations, with his former bandmate Ray Acevedo describing him as the ‘golden kid’.
Many ex-members had previously spoken out against Diaz – who has continued to deny all allegations against him and refused to take part in the documentary.
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