As the siblings of Tejano music icon Selena Quintanilla squabble over the business surrounding her legacy, the late singer’s husband, Chris Pérez, has taken to social media to say he refuses to participate in the nastiness.
“This is me … NOT getting involved in any kind of legal capacity with either side,” Pérez wrote on Facebook. Pérez’s statement comes after Selena’s siblings, A.B. Quintanilla and Suzette Quintanilla Arriaga, traded barbs.
In a Sept. 1 social media post, A.B. alluded to “a lawsuit related to Suzette Arriaga,” as well as unspecified “facts and circumstances” involving their late father, Abraham Quintanilla. He said the issues in the alleged legal action date back years but declined to provide details.
Suzette and her mother, Marcella Quintanilla, disputed A.B.’s account in a Sept. 2 social media post. They said Suzette has never been served with a lawsuit and they’ve been unable to locate a publicly filed case matching A.B.’s description.
A.B. responded with yet another social media post, stating “I don’t lie” and asserting that Suzette was “notified of a lawsuit related to her fiduciary duties.” The post included screenshots of an Aug. 26 email correspondence between Los Angeles-based law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and Beverly Hills attorney Michael Trauben.
The email, addressed to Trauben, contended that Suzette did not respect A.B.’s “request to exercise his contractual right to inspect the estate’s books and records.”
Whatever the facts behind the Quintanilla family flare-up, Pérez has made it clear he won’t be taking sides.
“Please, stop tagging me in your posts … that means you,” he wrote. “These social media ‘reporter’ guys are so lame … and (seemingly) getting fed false info like goldfish get fed their goldfish food. I hope they eat enough food that their bellies explode!!!!”
Pérez and Selena secretly married in 1992, despite her father’s disapproval. The couple stayed together until Selena was shot in the back and killed by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club, in Corpus Christi on March 31, 1995. Selena was 23. Saldívar was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.