Eduardo Yáñez
The telenovela actor that physically assaulted a reporter during a red carpet event is now apologizing for the incident. Univision/ElGordoyLaFlaca

Eduardo Yáñez is in hot water after slapping Paco Fuentes, a Univision reporter that was covering a red carpet event where the telenovela actor appeared. Yáñez got annoyed with Fuentes after he insisted in asking about the situation his son is facing and going to a crowd funding site to obtain money. The "Destilando Amor" actor believed the reporter was disrespecting him and made physical contact with him. Now, that aggression can cost the Mexican star $200,000, according to "Ventaneando." TMZ is reporting that the situation is under investigation and Yáñez could face a maximum of 6 months in prison.

After the video went viral, Eduardo Yáñez apologized to Paco Fuentes on Twitter. "I want to ask for a sincere apology to the public and the person affected by my action," he wrote. "It was not right. My private life is not for sale."

Eduardo Yáñez Jr. has also weighed in on the incident after his followers asked him about it on social media. "It's very bad," he wrote. "The video speaks for itself. Poor reporter he didn't deserve that." Paco Fuentes, the aggravated journalist, received en e-mail from the telenovelas star's son, which was revealed on the Univision gossip show. Another user on the social network commended him for reaching out. "Yeah, I sent him an email," he responded. "I felt bad for someone having to go through something like that, it's very demoralizing and embarrassing."

Univision released a statement after the video went viral. "Univision News, the award-winning news division of Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), the leading media company serving Hispanic America, condemns the act of violence perpetrated on October 10 by Eduardo Yáñez on Univision reporter Paco Fuentes", the statement reads. "Univision News demands respect for the physical safety of its reporters and expresses complete disapproval of any senseless act of violence against them. Censorship and acts of violence against journalists are reproachable no matter the source."

Alicia Machado also reacted to the slap and supported Yañez as she has had the urge to do the same to reporters. "What a good slap, now they'll probably give him a leading role, that's how the industry is," she wrote on Instagram. "Men always win and one that asks about the divorce about a chismosa or because you call things by their name, they close the doors on you. You need to be a hypocrite to continue having a job. It's just like when they asked me for nine years if the father of my princess was a narco. I get the urge to slap someone a la Yáñez, I'm his fan. Eduardo is a good person and a great actor, with his defects just like anyone. But the truth is that I'm a lady, you can't imagine how many times I've wanted to slap someone to they can respect."

After it was perceived that Lili Estefan and Raúl de Molina were poking fun of Paco Fuentes, the next day, the co-hosts apologized during their show. "Before starting out we want to reiterate our position of no violence in any way," De Molina said reading off the prompter. Lili added: "On our show yesterday, we made comments that could've been interpreted, even better said misinterpreted, like we were justifying Eduardo Yáñez' action against our reporter. We want to apologize to Paco, our audience and our colleagues who are members of the press because in no way did we want to do this."

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