Screengrab of the video showing the incident.
Credit: X/@StefSimanowitz
In a jarring incident, a Spanish TV reporter was sexually harassed during a live broadcast by a passerby. The reporter Isa Balado, who works with Spain’s Cuatro TV channel, was on a live broadcast over a robbery that took place in Madrid on Tuesday when the incident happened.
The man walked up to her and touched her bottom but was quick to deny the same when confronted later. He can also be heard asking which channel she worked for.
A seemingly disturbed Isa tried to keep her calm and continue with the reporting but was interrupted by the show’s host, Nacho Abad.
He can be seen asking, “Isa, forgive me for interrupting you. But did he just touch your bottom?”
To which the reporter responds "Yes" and the host asks her to put the "idiot" on camera. The camera then shows Isa and the evidently unfazed man who can be seen smiling.
"As much as you want to ask what channel we are from, do you really have to touch my bottom? I'm doing a live show and I'm working," the reporter can be seen confronting him. He denies having touched her and walks away after briefly running his hands down her hair.
Madrid Police arrested the man on the charges of sexual assault on the same day after the video went viral. A video showing the man in handcuffs being taken away by police officers was posted on X, formerly Twitter, by the National Police.
However, he was later released by the court as the judge opined that “there is no continued risk to the victim”, as per a CNN report.
According to a report on BBC, Mediaset Espana, which owns the TV channel, has released a statement voicing its support for the reporter following the "absolutely intolerable situation" she suffered saying that it "categorically repudiates any form of harassment or aggression".