Daddy Yankee Claims Innocence After Assault Charge

Puerto Rican singer Daddy Yankee was accused of hitting a soccer player at his hotel just minutes before his Friday night concert at Alejandro Serrano Aguilar stadium in Cuenca, Ecuador.

According to newspaper Expreso de Guayaquil, the reggaeton star, 30, got in a fight with Olympic athlete Daniel Adum, who was also residing at the hotel Oro Verde.

The soccer player alleged that the singer and members of his group got upset when he came to their hotel room and asked them to quiet down. The “Gasolina” singer then attacked Adum, and hotel security had to intervene to defend the athlete. Adum filed a police report against Yankee, noting the supposed incident and that the artist's room smelled like marijuana.

According to the same newspaper, Adum had bruises on his face and cuts on his forehead. “Ecuadorians can't allow foreigners who are known for their fame do whatever they want in a country that welcomes them and gives them the opportunity to work,” the athlete said.

Faced with the accusations, Yankee defended himself. “What this guy said is against my philosophy of life,” he responded during a telephone interview with the press while touring in Cali, Colombia. “People know that I've been clear, and if a country gives me a chance to perform, I'm not going to come and cause problems.”

According Expreso de Guayaquil, after Adum went to the authorities, police supposedly waited for the singer and his bodyguards at the hotel during the performance, eventually stopping the artist – who might have been trying to flee the scene – after the show on the Cuenca-Molleturo-Puerto Inca highway.

The reggaeton star held a press conference last weekend to explain the situation, saying that police found no incriminating evidence in his room and that the case was dropped.

Daddy Yankee will continue to tour and plans on returning to Ecuador. “If they say that they want a concert next week, we'll do it,” he said. “I hope Adum enjoys his five minutes of fame. There are people who will say anything to get on camera,” he added.