Former Douglas Elliman broker and reality TV star Luis D. Ortiz took to Instagram Thursday to defend himself against allegations of domestic abuse brought by Nikita Singh, the mother of his three-year-old daughter. His decision to speak out, he hinted, was triggered by the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp trial.
In a seven-slide post, Ortiz denied accusations of physical, sexual and emotional abuse made by Singh last year, which he called a “false pretense” for Singh to take custody of their child.
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“I have never in my life threatened, hurt or abused any woman physically, emotional or sexually,” Ortiz, a former cast member on “Million Dollar Listing New York,” wrote, describing Singh’s actions as “evil.” The “absurd and completely false accusations,” he added, “have led me to face countless threats and attacks by hundreds of people, including real victims, on a daily basis.”
Singh alleged last summer that Ortiz had abused and harassed her and falsely accused her of abducting Leela, their daughter, to live with her in the U.K. Singh started a GoFundMe page to fund her legal efforts, and claimed Ortiz was using “his money, connections and his powerful lawyers to crush me.”
Singh dismissed Ortiz’s latest claims in an Instagram story Thursday afternoon.
“We had a legal case where plenty of information was provided,” Singh said, addressing Ortiz directly. “You did not allow for this to go to trial because you were so afraid of all of this information becoming public. You have no right to try to defend yourself right now.”
In a caption to his post, Ortiz said “this recent case” inspired him to speak up, likely a reference to a jury’s determination Wednesday that actress Amber Heard defamed her ex-husband, actor Johnny Depp, in a 2018 op-ed in the Washington Post in which she described herself as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.”
Ortiz spent four seasons as a cast member on “Million Dollar Listing” from 2013 to 2016, before returning to the series for a fifth season in 2019.
He did not respond to a request for comment.
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