The program ‘Let’s see’ did not overlook the special ‘Bárbara Rey: My truth’, broadcast this past Monday, November 9 on Telecinco. Joaquín Prat dedicated a detailed analysis to the statements of the actress, who acknowledged having received money from King Emeritus Juan Carlos, describing it as a “loan.” During the debate, the presenter was forceful in his assessment: “She says she would call it a loan, but for anyone with half a brain that’s called blackmail.”
Furthermore, Prat highlighted the difference between both legal figures, emphasizing that “a loan is not a crime and blackmail is, the point is that it has expired”. The issue of the origin of the funds was also not left out of the debate: “That the Spaniards have to pay this man, with the fortune he had, for the blackmail that his lover does to him… it’s a big deal”.
The figure of 25 million pesetas mentioned by the actress was another highlight in the program. In his words, that money would have been used to solve personal problems. However, Prat emphasized the apparent inconsistencies in Bárbara Rey’s story: “He was completely broke, but he had a Filipino couple working in his house as domestic help. In the end”.
The program also addressed the relationship between the actress and her family environment during that time. According to Joaquín Prat, Bárbara Rey would have tried to protect her brother, although involving her son: “To prevent retaliation against his brother, he places the responsibility on his 12-year-old son.”.
Prat defined Bárbara Rey’s words as “fantasy from a television point of view” and added: “Not because I am telling half-truths, absolute truths or lies. It’s because of how he tells it and recognizes it.”.
The journalist stated: “We knew that everything was true for a long time, what was missing was for the protagonist of the blackmail to recognize it”.
Finally, Joaquín Prat pointed out that the actress tried to project a negative image of the monarch to justify her actions: “It portrays the King as an absolutist medieval monarch. Throughout the interview she shows that image of the King so that the viewer empathizes with her and thinks that he deserved to be blackmailed.”. And he concluded by referring to a particularly harsh phrase: “Because he treated her like a whore, she believes the blackmail was justified.”.
