Florinda Meza, the renowned Mexican actress immortalized as Doña Florinda in El Chavo del 8, has once again found herself at the center of a media storm. On September 11, 2025, Meza granted a candid interview to journalist Adela Micha, unleashing a volley of criticisms against the recently released biographical series Chespirito: Sin querer queriendo and, in a move that set social media ablaze, hurling pointed insults at some of her former romantic partners. The interview, which quickly racked up over 40,000 views, has divided fans and reignited old controversies surrounding Meza’s personal and professional life.
Meza did not mince words regarding the HBO series, produced by Paulina and Roberto Gómez Fernández, children of the late comedy legend Roberto Gómez Bolaños (better known as Chespirito). According to Excélsior, Meza asserted that the show fails to faithfully depict her complex relationship with Gómez Bolaños, a romance that began while he was still married to his first wife, Graciela Fernández. "The fiction does not represent with fidelity the relationship I lived with Roberto," she insisted, setting the tone for a conversation that would only become more incendiary.
But it was Meza’s recollections of past loves that truly captured public attention. As she reminisced about her time with Chespirito—whom she described as "a seducer attracted to intelligence and culture"—Meza couldn’t resist drawing sharp contrasts with her previous relationships. Without naming names, she let slip an insult that quickly trended online: "There were many that I won’t mention because some are still alive and famous. Maybe they became a bit less dull later, but I used to say, ‘Oh, with this idiot.’" The Spanish word she used, "pende", was censored in reports but unmistakable in its sting.
Fans and commentators were quick to speculate about the targets of her barbed remarks. The names of Carlos Villagrán (the beloved Kiko) and producer Enrique Segoviano, both pivotal figures during the golden era of Chespirito, surfaced repeatedly. Villagrán himself once confessed to having had a relationship with Meza while still married, later offering a public apology to his family and fans. However, Meza has consistently denied ever being romantically involved with Villagrán, doubling down in her interview by declaring she would never have dated someone she considered a "pende". As for Segoviano, Meza has spoken warmly of him, describing him as kind and even revealing they were once engaged, though she maintains he was not the love of her life.
The tumultuous relationship between Meza and Gómez Bolaños has long been a subject of fascination and debate. According to the new series and corroborated by testimonies from the era, their union reportedly played a role in the unraveling of iconic projects like El Chavo del 8 and El Chapulín Colorado, allegedly prompting the departure of key cast members such as Villagrán, Ramón Valdés, and Segoviano. The recent bioserie, which traces Gómez Bolaños’s journey from childhood to television stardom, does not shy away from dramatizing the behind-the-scenes conflicts, personal rifts, and creative dilemmas that shaped his career.
Yet, Meza’s criticisms of the series extend far beyond its portrayal of her love life. In a separate interview with the program De Primera Mano, she denounced the show as "full of lies", asserting that it damaged the image and legacy of Gómez Bolaños. "The authors of that series did a lot of harm. The producer and the platform are responsible for many damages that I will clarify," she declared. Meza took particular issue with the depiction of Gómez Bolaños supposedly launching his career by "jumping fences" to break into television. "Roberto was a creative. He began his career in the 1950s in advertising, then radio and television, writing for countless comedians. He was a good man and a great writer and actor. I don’t understand why the creators did all that," she lamented.
One of the most contentious elements of the series, according to Meza, is a dramatized confrontation between Gómez Bolaños and Segoviano in Acapulco. Meza adamantly refuted this storyline, calling it "deliberate and absurd falsehood". "There was never a fight. Enrique and Roberto were friends—nothing of the sort ever happened. The actors created a fictional character, supposedly not me, but clearly modeled after me, so that everyone would assume it was me," she said. Meza also accused the series of intentionally excluding her, inventing a character based on her without consent, which she claims led to a wave of harsh criticism and moral damage across media and social networks.
Meza’s grievances do not end there. She charged the producers with exploiting her life and image for profit without her permission. "Using my life and image, because it’s implied, is purely for profit. No one has the right. It’s my private life, and I don’t have to explain myself, but I am concerned about the great harm done to Roberto’s image, memory, and legacy. I’m here speaking with you, but he’s already dead. That’s vile, here and in China. Out of respect for Roberto, there are many things that shouldn’t be done," she said with palpable emotion.
The controversy has also dredged up an old televised interview from 2004, recently resurfaced on social media in the wake of the bioserie’s premiere. In that interview, Meza, seated beside Gómez Bolaños, quipped, "He had seven great defects: six children and a wife. If they were mine, they’d be wonderful, but since they weren’t, they were a problem and a defect." The comment, now viral, has drawn sharp criticism from viewers who found it insensitive to Gómez Bolaños’s family. Responding to the backlash, Meza took to social media to clarify that her words were meant ironically and taken out of context. She reaffirmed her admiration for Gómez Bolaños, calling him "a perfect man" and explaining the remark was simply a humorous way to express her initial reluctance to fall in love with him.
During a recent press encounter, Meza laughed off the controversy, referencing a popular song: "Oh, there’s even a song that says, ‘You’re the perfect man, you only have one flaw: you’re married.’ These things are said as jokes!" She insisted that negative comments online had little impact on her personally, dismissing critics as people with no direction or motivation who "take refuge in the lives of others to fill personal voids." Still, her deepest concern remains the possible harm to Gómez Bolaños’s memory: "What I regret is that the memory, the recollection, and the legacy of Roberto were damaged. I can answer, but a dead man cannot."
Amid the uproar, Meza has also sought to set the record straight regarding her relationship with Gómez Bolaños and his first wife, Graciela Fernández. She stressed that their marital problems predated her involvement, sharing intimate details of their courtship: "Roberto told me clearly, ‘Graciela won’t give me a divorce, I can’t divorce now,’ but I accepted it, even knowing I couldn’t have children. I accepted it because I loved him; he was the love of my life, the man I’ve loved most in the world."
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: Florinda Meza remains an indelible figure in Latin American pop culture, unafraid to speak her mind and fiercely protective of her legacy and that of Roberto Gómez Bolaños. Whether her latest outspokenness will mend old wounds or open new ones, it has certainly rekindled public fascination with the real stories behind the laughter.
