Ninel Conde Explains Controversial Video That Appeared to Call Aylín Mujica “Panteonera”

Ninel Conde has responded to a video that appeared to show her calling fellow “Top Chef VIP 5” cast member Aylín Mujica “panteonera” while Mujica recalled her recently deceased son during the reality cooking show.

Conde said the clip had been edited in a way that took a word from another conversation and placed it next to Mujica’s comments. “She was talking about her little son, who sadly died. I was saying ‘panteonera’; I want to make absolutely clear that it was never directed at Aylín, and even less at her son or the terrible loss she is experiencing,” she said.

Conde explained that she had been speaking with Mauricio, with whom she often jokes. She said he used the word “araña” and she completed the expression “araña panteonera,” a Mexican term she described as referring to someone who feels dizzy or as if they had been fumigated.

The circulating video prompted criticism because Mujica had been speaking about her son Mauro Menéndez, who died at age 30 on July 16. Conde said she deeply respects Mujica and would never mock such a painful situation. She issued the clarification in a video posted to social media after several media outlets began sharing the clip.

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She was talking about her little son, who sadly died. I was saying ‘panteonera’; I want to make absolutely clear that it was never directed at Aylín, and even less at her son or the terrible loss she is experiencing. I am a mother, and I would be incapable of using those terms to refer to that situation.