Mirtha Legrand surprised her audience in the last broadcast of the year Mirtha’s Night with an unusual gesture: offering a public apology to journalist Alejandro Fantino for a comment he made that was considered “out of place” during an old television episode that led to a legal battle.
“Very happy new year and, once again, I apologize for the comment I made out of place, on my behalf and on that of the production,” said the host when opening the program, a gesture that many interpreted as an attempt to close a media wound that had remained open for years.
The origin of the conflict dates back to March 2018, when on the Legrand program the model Natacha Jaitt mentioned, within the framework of an investigation into abuse and corruption of minors linked to the Club Atlético Independiente, names of journalists and public figures, including Fantino, in a context that he considered defamatory.
Although Jaitt did not directly name him as a defendant, the insinuation was enough for Fantino to express his deep discomfort and, some time later, initiate a civil and commercial lawsuit against Mirtha Legrand and her grandson, producer Ignacio “Nacho” Viale, for having encouraged and allowed the defamation of his image. The judicial case, which had remained without major progress for some time, regained momentum in the Argentine courts in recent months.
In his defense during that conflict, Fantino went so far as to point out that the trial, which he defined as a civil and commercial lawsuit, was an issue from which over time he had become “energetically detached,” to the point of not closely following its evolution until his team of lawyers brought him up to date.
Mirtha’s gesture, already at the close of 2025, came after years of media and judicial tension. Her apology resonated with viewers and entertainment figures, who saw in the host an attempt to close a chapter that marked not only the relationship between both hosts, but also the television memory of an episode of strong public impact.
Legrand’s decision to make the clarification publicly, while she is still active on the screen at the age of 98, once again put on stage the weight of her career and the way in which she dialogues with her legacy in the current times of Argentine television.
