28/07/2026 04:30 - Entretenimiento
Brenda Asnicar and Laura Esquivel, globally remembered for their roles in the beloved youth series Patito Feo (Ugly Duckling), appeared on the program Sería Increíble, hosted by Nati Jota on the OLGA platform. There, for the first time in a joint interview, they publicly addressed Juan Darthés, their former castmate whose six-year prison sentence for sexual abuse was confirmed in May 2026 by Brazilian courts.
The legal process against Darthés began after the courageous public complaint by Thelma Fardín in December 2018, who recounted being abused by the actor during a tour of the show in Nicaragua. When asked if they had any inkling of what was happening at the time, the actresses were honest about how they experienced that period as very young women.
Asnicar was blunt in explaining that at the time they were unaware of the severity of the situation, though she recalled certain comments circulating in the production environment. 'We never knew anything. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it. But in a way I believed it 100%, because he had a reputation for trying to pick up the makeup artist, the hairdresser,' she said.
The actress also recalled a scene that stayed etched in her memory during one of the international tours: 'I remember a makeup artist in a hallway saying, “Hey, this guy is… He was on the prowl,”' she stated, highlighting how those attitudes, normalized at the time, take on an alarming dimension today.
Esquivel, who played Darthés’s daughter in the fiction, described a different bond with the actor. 'The relationship I had with him was super paternal, like father and daughter,' she explained. That closeness and the belief in a safe environment made it hard to process the news. 'There was a production that was equally looking after the kids. It was a very good human group. That’s why it’s also hard to believe,' she added.
A key point of the conversation was how the international tours were organized. Both actresses emphasized that they traveled accompanied by their mothers, a non-negotiable condition demanded by their families. 'The rest were much more vulnerable. It was our demand. My mom told me: You don’t travel if I don’t go with you,' Asnicar recalled. Esquivel confirmed she also had that protection. In hindsight, both recognize that this family presence acted as a safety barrier in a context where other cast members were more exposed.
The conversation also touched on the impact of the complaint and the long process Fardín endured. Esquivel expressed her empathy: 'It’s hard for me, from Thelma’s side, everything she went through. All the years she had to deal with the justice system, going back and forth. How do you go out on the street? Going out, how people look at you for who you are, for what you said, very questioned.'
They also remembered Calu Rivero, who was the first actress to speak publicly about Darthés before Fardín’s formal complaint, and how she was harshly criticized at the time instead of being heard, illustrating a sadly repeated pattern in these cases.
The six-year prison sentence against Juan Darthés was confirmed in May 2026 when Brazilian authorities rejected the defense’s final appeals. The actor had moved to Brazil after the initial scandal.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
