A Beyonce-inspired singer literally wrong-footed her employer after she was caught performing intricate dance moves for a music video while officially on sick leave after bunion surgery.
Production assistant Virya Cruz, who worked for an audiovisual company in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, claimed a decision to fire her in June 2023 after the performance came to light was unfair.
But this week the Canary Islands’ superior court ruled her employer was within its right to dismiss aspiring pop star Ms Cruz after seeing the high-energy dance routine, The Telegraph reports.
‘Dancing and jumping in heels are incompatible with recovery from her foot condition, which requires rest and periods of immobility,’ the ruling declared, in line with a previous verdict delivered by the lower tribunal.
The video in question was for Ms Cruz’s second single, No Doy Tanto Miedo (I’m Not So Scary), which features the fledgling singer swinging her hips, flicking out her legs and marching on the spot – all while wearing high heels.
Aspiring pop star Virya Cruz wrong-footed her employer after she was caught performing intricate dance moves for a music video while officially on sick leave after bunion surgery
Virya Cruz, who worked for an audiovisual company in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, claimed a decision to fire her in June 2023 after the performance came to light was unfair
Ms Cruz is said to have made the music video while off work for 10 months following an operation on her bunion.
The company found other instances of Ms Cruz being physically active, including performing at Pride Week in Madrid and a second video that shows her running on the singer’s social media activity.
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Lawyer Miguel Ángel Cárdenes, who acted for Ms Cruz, told El Mundo that his client had not deliberately deceived her employer.
‘We deny that there was any fraud and we also deny that the worker made any physical effort incompatible with the treatment of her temporary disability,’ he said.
José Manuel Hernández Suárez, who acted for Ms Cruz’s former company, said her employer did not have access to her medical records because of data protection, but the singer herself had divulged to other employees why she was on sick leave.
‘In this case, the worker herself publicly stated to her colleagues that she had had an operation on her foot and we could see in the videos that she participated in an artistic activity that was incompatible with that pathology.’
Vankiki Records, which represents Ms Cruz, describes her on their website as a singer ‘with music that reminds us of many artists, from the vocal power of Miley Cyrus, to the more modern rhythms of Billie Eilish.’
This week the Canary Islands’ superior court ruled her employer was within its right to dismiss aspiring pop star Ms Cruz after seeing the high-energy dance routine
The music video features the fledgling singer swinging her hips, flicking out her legs and marching on the spot – all while wearing high heels