After many years of silence, Jimena Monteverde broke the silence about his conflict with Maru Botana. In an interview, she accused her colleague of being a “bad person” and claimed that she lost her job because of him. Faced with these statements, the cook of “Sabor a mí” responded with a harsh statement on her social networks, offering her version of the events that occurred years ago. “Why does Maru Botana hate you?” she asked bluntly. Hector Maugeri to Monteverde During the interview, Mirtha Legrand’s chef’s response was blunt: “I don’t know if she hates me or if that’s the right word, but that reflects more the other person’s insecurity. On television, you have to be a little bit evil, and I don’t have it. That’s why it’s harder for me than for others to find my place or be firm. I always believed that people were good, and they aren’t always,” she said.
Monteverde recalled the origin of the conflict: “We shared a program on weekends in America TV, and the possibility of having a slot during the week arose. She presented several pilots until one was approved and she asked for exclusivity on the channel. That meant that Coco (Carreño) and I could no longer continue,” she explained. And she added: “Coco is my friend, I freed him. With me, he is completely free, but he did not feel that way with Maru.”
The chef also confessed: «I never thought about being on a channel and asking to be the only cook. I don’t know exactly what happened, but it was very sad for me. Maru Botana was the biggest disappointment I had on television. I felt like they displaced me, they left me without a job, me and many people who worked with me». After these words, Maru Botana expressed her annoyance on her social networks: «There is nothing worse than defaming someone when they are not present. Jimena, I am speaking to you: I do not know you, I have never seen you in my life. I want you to know that I would never take a job from you, I never did. I generate employment, I have more than 160 employees», she affirmed.
Botana continued saying: “I don’t know if this is the right place to speak, but there comes a time when I can no longer tolerate people speaking ill of me and defaming me. I have learned to face problems face to face, and that is what I teach my children. I prefer to speak directly to people.” She also explained that she had nothing to do with the departure of Monteverde de America TV: «There are authorities on the channels, at that time it was Liliana Parodi. I could never go to a channel and ask for someone not to be there, they wouldn’t allow it. It hurts me a lot to hear these lies from Jimena, and from people like Sergio Lapegüe. Coco lived in my house, she was part of my family.»
With visible anguish, Botana concluded: «I made this video to clear up a little of all this lie that affects me. I don’t bother anyone, I just work and take care of my children. I have gone through immense pain in my life, and I don’t want any more harm.» Finally, she added: «I’m tired. Now I’m in a good moment, working on Bake Off “with a wonderful group. I want to enjoy the nice things that happen to me. These situations that seem small end up hurting. I have nothing to hide.”
Before closing her statement, Maru made a request to Monteverde: “Jimena, I don’t know who you are. Why don’t we have a coffee and talk? I don’t understand what I have to do with other people’s problems.” She concluded her message by saying: “To those who don’t like me, don’t follow me anymore. I’m not perfect, but what I show is what I am. I’m tired of those who speak badly of others, they should get a life and not do harm. Defamation is the most terrible thing.”
