Spanish popstar Beret arrested on suspicion of sexual assault

Spain

The arrest came just two days after the star sang in front of Pope Leo XIV in Barcelona earlier this week

Gerard Couzens

A Spanish pop star has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault - 48 hours after singing in front of Pope Leo XIV in Barcelona.

Francisco Javier Álvarez Beret, better known by the mononym Beret, is understood to have been held in his home city of Seville on Thursday morning.

The 29-year-old, who has 1.2 million followers on Instagram, is said to have appeared before a judge at a specialist court dealing with violence against women on Thursday afternoon before being provisionally released.

Singer-songwriter Beret sang in front of the Pope during his ongoing week-long visit to Spain at the Olympic Stadium in the Catalan capital on Tuesday.

He performed at a massive youth prayer vigil attended by over 40,000 people, delivering a welcome message to the head of the Catholic Church and singing his track Superheroes accompanied by a Catalan children’s choir.

He had previously performed for a pontiff when he sang alongside Italian artist Mr Rain at a Vatican event for Pope Francis in November 2023.

No further details have emerged about the accusation being levelled against Beret or how the arrest took place, although police sources have been quoted as saying the alleged assault occurred in April.

Beret is one of the trendiest singer-songwriters in Spain. His first major hit was the song Lo Siento - I’m Sorry in English - with which he made the leap to Latin America.

He has collaborated with Colombian artist Yatra and Spanish singer Aitana among others. In November 2025 he released his fourth album.

He is due to perform in London and Dublin in November as part of a world tour.

The Pope travelled to Gran Canaria after visiting Madrid and Barcelona.