Saturday night's broadcast of 'Malas lenguas noche' on La 2 was interrupted when commentator Marta Gómez Montero left the set in tears after a confrontation with presenter Jesús Cintora. The exchange took place during a live discussion of Alberto Núñez Feijóo's criticism of workplace absenteeism and temporary sick leave in Spain.
As the debate intensified, Cintora invited Gómez Montero to speak. She declined, saying she felt humiliated by his previous conduct and had endured enough while supporting her family and meeting financial obligations. Invoking Gabriel García Márquez's novel 'El coronel no tiene quien le escriba', she said she would rather “eat dirt” than continue in those circumstances.
Gómez Montero gathered her belongings, removed her microphone and left the set. Cintora told viewers that no one was humiliated on the programme and described her departure as her decision. He then turned to fellow panelist Esther Palomera, who acknowledged the discomfort in the studio.
The discussion continued, though attention remained on Gómez Montero's exit. Cintora later said he had gestured for her to wait her turn to keep order during the live debate. He expressed regret if she had felt mistreated and invited her to return to the programme.
The argument unfolded amid a wider political dispute over sick leave, employer oversight and workers' rights. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of Spain's Partido Popular, has described absenteeism as “a cancer we cannot afford to pay for” and backed stronger monitoring of sick leave, greater powers for mutual insurance bodies and a review of salary supplements, as reported by La Marea. In early October 2026, Público also reported his criticism of workers taking sick leave on Mondays and Fridays and his support for mutual insurance bodies being able to end medical leave. These are political claims and proposals, not a national statistical measure of fraudulent sick leave.
Employer groups have framed absenteeism as a management and efficiency issue. At the opening of AECOC's 41st Consumer Goods Congress in Seville, the organisation's president, Ignacio González, said, “Absenteeism is not a health problem but a management problem,” information from elDiario.es. PSOE representatives, meanwhile, called Feijóo's remarks “unfortunate, insensitive and incompatible with defending the health of the working class.” They argued that temporary-incapacity leave is prescribed by health professionals on clinical grounds.
RTVE's official listing for Malas lenguas - Programa 437 names Marta G. Montero among the contributors, alongside Pablo Iglesias, Loreto Ochando, Ignasi Guardans, Javier García Vila, Marisol Hernández, Ángeles Caballero and José M.ª Benito. The listing describes the episode as a discussion of current affairs. The incident also echoes wider conversations about workplace dynamics and respect in public forums. In recent weeks, other high-profile moments on Spanish television have drawn national attention, including Infanta Sofía's first solo speech in Zaragoza, which addressed challenges in the education sector and is covered in this detailed report on her public debut.
Live television puts presenters and contributors under pressure, especially when discussion turns to contentious social issues. Gómez Montero's emotional departure brought that pressure into view and renewed attention to the boundaries of on-air debate and the responsibilities of everyone taking part, on and off camera.
