The renowned actress Florinda Meza sparked a controversy by appearing on television in Brazil and Chile and lashing out at her other former 'Chavo del 8' castmates, including María Antonieta de las Nieves. Meza stated that María Antonieta had illegally appropriated the character of 'La Chilindrina', which, according to the producer as well, altered the history and legacy of the creator of 'El Chavo del Ocho'. The comedienne asserts that she felt a great betrayal, an event that marked her relationship with 'La Chilindrina.' 'The character belonged to Roberto,' she accused, 'and María Antonieta took advantage of the license expiration to register 'La Chilindrina' in her name.' According to her testimony, de las Nieves would have bribed an official to obtain ownership of the character once the original contract expired, an act, in Meza's words, that is illegal and could never be accepted as legitimate. 'I would never accept an illegal act as truth, and the truth is that she stole a character,' she sentenced. On the other hand, when questioned if Carlos Villagrán had ever made a pass at her, Meza expanded her response and again distanced herself from the topic, assuring she had no interest in talking about him. 'Of course, many people, many... Yes, but look, what does it matter to me? I didn't come here to talk about Carlos Villagrán to begin with. Do you want us to give him publicity?' She also lamented that other of her castmates, like Carlos Villagrán, had criticized 'Chespirito' after his death. She also recalled a phrase Villagrán said that marked the tension between the actors: 'Even if it's two pesos, but I must earn more than that midget,' in reference to the salary dispute between Carlos and María Antonieta. 'Doña Florinda' explained that the conflict originated when they tried to renew the registration for 'La Chilindrina' and discovered it had already been done. 'When the lawyer went to renew everything is when they delivered the investigation, she found out about all of that. And she told us: 'I can't go register... it's already registered.'
