Host Tamara Pettinato did not show up this Friday morning to the programs in which she usually participates. The strong and disproportionate reaction that was unleashed against her on the networks after two videos went viral in which she appears “flirting” with former president Alberto Fernández, recently denounced by his ex-partner Fabiola Yáñez for gender violence, forced her to temporarily step away from her jobs.
The panelist was absent this morning from the program ¿Y ahora quién será ayudanos?, on Radio Con Vos, and was also absent from the program Ella Empieza, on Radio Metro. She also did not appear on Final Feliz, a program on Blender’s streaming channel, last night —the segment was canceled without prior notice or justification—.
In recent hours, the national media outlets with the largest reach have taken advantage of the commotion caused by the former first lady’s complaint this week about violence and “psychological terror” to spread sensationalist and morbid content that goes against the ethical standards of communication in cases of gender-based violence.
Not only were sensitive images released – bruises on Yáñez’s face and body from alleged blows – but also videos that reinforce Fernández’s poor reputation, but which have no connection to the criminal complaint, went viral. However, without any apparent reason, Pettinato was made the protagonist of the cover of a national newspaper this Friday, and her name became a trending topic on X after numerous comments and criticisms from users.
In fact, the host was targeted for the scandalous image of Fernández since Thursday night when a television channel broadcast a filming – of dubious origin – of the reproduction of a video on the screen of a cell phone, in which only she can be seen, sitting in the presidential office of the Casa Rosada, with a beer in one hand. In the background, in the audiovisual, the voice of the then national president can be heard, who is supposedly the one recording the conversation.
At no point in the video does the presenter commit any irregularity, all she does is joke and flatter the former Head of State – they say “I love you” to each other while laughing – although according to reports, this meeting would have occurred in the middle of quarantine due to the coronavirus pandemic, when strict health protocols were in force. Meanwhile, this Friday morning another video was released, also filmed by the former president, in which the journalist is seen dedicating “a love letter” to him.
Due to the repercussions generated by these images on social media, and the sexist treatment exercised by some media outlets, the Blender streaming channel decided not to broadcast the Final Feliz program on Thursday night, in which Tamara participates. In this regard, this morning, on the program Esto es desayuno, the host Federico Simonetti explained: “She was not there to do the program.”
“The focus really has to be on the complaint of gender violence against Alberto Fernández, and not on the videos that embellish that case a little, and that serve a little to complement it, beyond the fact that it triggers our morbid curiosity,” he said.
Likewise, the leading presenter of YAQPY, Ernesto Tenembaum, explained the reason why the presenter would not be present this morning and expressed his opinion on this matter.
“Today is a particularly sad day for our team because the situation involving Tamara has a very strong impact on us,” the journalist began by saying, adding: “Tamara is a good person, whom we love very much. (…) Naturally, Alberto Fernández’s attitude, who is the other person involved in the video, is outrageous, it is something that does not correspond to a president.”
“We have been saying for a long time, ever since the photo appeared in Olivos (villa), and perhaps even before, that he was a man who was not honoring his status as president,” Tenembaun confirmed about the former president.
Regarding the videos that were released, he said that “it is natural that we are outraged by a character (Fernandez) who at this point clearly should never have been in that place,” but he stressed: “As a friend to Tamara, I could tell her in private some things about this, but ultimately, she is an older person who does with her life, her body and her relationships what she wants.”
Finally, he said that he told Tamara Pettinato that she could return to the program and explain what she wanted “when she is in a position to do so.”
Regarding the radio show Ella Empieza, which Roberto Pettinato’s daughter hosts in the mid-morning, panelist Vicky Garabal said: “I think that all the topics are mixed together, and that is very unfair.”
“They are all different issues. The one that seems most important or judgeable to me is what happened to Fabiola, who is clearly a victim of gender violence, and who is filing a complaint. We must not re-victimize her and upload photos that she may not have consented to be circulated, since it is a painful process and even more so when you have a child,” she said.
He also said that he did not understand why Tamara’s video had become “news”, and said: “It is a private matter, which she did not make public. When it was and when none of us know.”
Finally, he considered that it was “very unfair that the focus is on that.” “It is vile to link the two news items, it makes no sense, it is a media use because it is useful, it works… and that is life.”
