The Provincial Court has confirmed the acquittal of the agitator Pilar Baselga for a crime of slander against the agitator Pilar Baselga, the woman who stated in 2022 on a digital media outlet that the president’s wife, Begoña Gómez, was born a man and that her real name is Begoño. Baselga also spread the rumor that Gómez was involved “with a drug trafficking issue in Morocco.” She did so by referring to publications from “alternative media,” but without specifying which ones.
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The Court confirms the ruling of the Criminal Court number 22 of Madrid and therefore rejects the appeals filed by Gómez against Baselga and the owner of the television channel where the statements were made, Distrito TV S. L. Gómez’s defense argued that the agitator’s words did not meet the “constitutional requirement of truthfulness, required for the protection of freedom of information to operate” and that they also “lacked relevant public interest,” so they could not be protected under that right to information.
The ruling replies that although Gómez does not hold a public office, “she must be considered a person of public relevance” and that due to “her status as the wife of the Prime Minister, she is objectively placed in the public sphere” and, therefore, with a “level of public exposure clearly higher than that of an anonymous citizen.” For this reason, she must “endure a higher threshold of criticism” than the average citizen. Although such prominent people still have the right to protection “against insulting, humiliating, or unnecessarily offensive expressions,” the Court states that Baselga’s words do not warrant criminal response. “They are very unfortunate, inappropriate, and even potentially harmful to the honor of the injured party,” the text assures, but “mere incorrectness or bad taste” is not enough to constitute a crime of slander.
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The rumor that Gómez is transgender was trending on social networks and the program’s views multiplied within hours. Judge Beatriz Suárez Martín, presiding over Criminal Court number 22 of Madrid, stated in the ruling that “the subjective element of the alleged crime is not proven, that is, that the expression used has undermined the honor of the complainant, therefore, the facts declared proven do not have the criminal relevance to deserve criminal reproach, and must be considered atypical.”
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