The Untold Truth Of Amazon Prime Espana's Henar Alvarez
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Chances are, if you didn't know who Henar Álvarez is, you do now because of her involvement in Prime Video España's suspension scandal. On December 20, 2021, it was announced that an Amazon-owned channel was banned from the live-streaming site Twitch after Álvarez broke the community service guidelines by flashing part of her breast during the talk show "Esto es un Late."
For those unfamiliar with Álvarez, she is a writer, journalist, and comic from Madrid, Spain, who has seemingly been working in Spanish media since at least 2013. According to El Periodico, Álvarez began her career as a blogger, after receiving her diploma in Audiovisual Communication. She explained, "When I finished my degree I couldn't dedicate myself to my profession, I started a blog about cinema." This indirectly led to her first major role as the host of the movie-themed TV series "Días de cine" ("Days of Cinema"). While Álvarez's time on the show didn't last long (since she was replaced in 2014), it did seem to give her and her blog recognition as an important voice in the Spanish film industry.
It appears Álvarez has been living her dream working in media. She dished to El Periodico, "I have always liked cinema. Forever," adding, "My mother instilled in me a passion for books and I instilled in her a love for cinema." While her shirt-lifting scandal is what got Álvarez in the international headlines, she's got a lot more going on than just that, so let's get to know her better.
How Henar Álvarez caused Twitch to ban an Amazon channel
Henar Álvarez gained notoriety in December 2021 after she reportedly got the Spanish-language Prime Video channel, Amazon Prime España, banned from the streaming service Twitch. According to BBC News, Álvarez is one of the hosts of the talk show "Esto es un Late," and at the end of a stream she apparently partially lifted up her shirt in jest, accidentally revealing her breast. The comic was supposedly making a joke that doing so was how they could finally end their lengthy program. She even said, laughing, "We're about to be banned. Come on. They're going to ban us!"
Unfortunately they, "they" being Twitch, actually did ban them. BBC News reported that the entire channel was banned for breaking the rules. According to Twitch's community guidelines, "sexually suggestive content is prohibited," and that includes "Content or camera focus on breasts."
Kotaku noted that Prime Video España is "an official Amazon Prime Video channel," so what makes this intriguing and somewhat confusing is that Twitch is also owned by Amazon. This was the first situation wherein an Amazon channel was suspended from a platform owned by Amazon. By the time you wrap your head around that, the ban could be lifted, as Twitch does have an appeals process and it's unclear how long the ban is supposed to be imposed. Either way, it appears that Álvarez isn't afraid to break the rules and cause a little controversy.
Henar Álvarez apologized while making a point
Henar Álvarez took to her Twitter account to address the ban of a Spanish Amazon Prime Video channel from the streaming platform Twitch, a ban she inadvertently caused by simply lifting up her shirt and accidentally showing part of her breast on her show, "Esto es un Late." Not only did she share links to news that covered the incident, but in her true comic nature, she attempted to make the whole ordeal into a joke, writing: "Tell them I promise that from now on I will always wear a bra to host the show." She did include what seemed like a sincere apology though, adding, "I am very sorry, I was wrong and it will not happen again."
Álvarez, who is a known feminist, also seemed to use the controversy as an opportunity to comment on what the ban could infer about women's bodies. She did so by tweeting a quote from Spanish musical artist Rigoberta Bandini, that read, "I don't know why our boobs are so scary, without them there would be no humanity or beauty and you know it well." She also called Bandini a "Goddess, queen and, hopefully, future representative of Spain in Eurovision" in the process.
And it's not just Álvarez speaking out. Her co-host, Mister Jagger, also tweeted that "Esto es un Late" and Henar Álvarez were "the f***ing best program in the world," making it clear that the journalist had the support of her peers.
She's a feminist
Henar Álvarez is sparking conversation about how women's bodies are portrayed in the media by jokingly exposing part of her breast. Beyond that, she's actually a feminist who has been bringing attention to women's issues for a while. In 2018, she became one of the hosts and directors of the podcast, "Tramas maestras," which translates to "Master Plots." According to Prnotocias, the show focused on "the influence of cinema and series on the social story from humor and gender perspective." The first episode was even on "how the film industry has related the figure of the woman as an object of desire," in particular. The show was seemingly a hit for Álvarez since, as of December 2021, it has almost 50,000 views on YouTube alone.
In another program called "Likes," Álvarez hosted a segment called "FeminaCine" where she discussed how women were portrayed as stereotypes in past movies. In terms of her work as writer, Álvarez has her own feminist column in the digital newspaper "El Confidencial" where she writes about things in the media from her perspective as an activist.
If that's not impressive enough, in 2020, Álvarez published her own graphic novel, "La Mala Leche," about her views on motherhood and sexuality. Álvarez told La Vanguardia, "What I wanted was to tell a story in which it was seen that women also desire, that we not only like to be desired, and show that this desire can bring problems, and it brings them to us constantly."
Henar Álvarez keeps busy
Henar Álvarez has kept quite busy, not only as a writer and podcast/TV host, but also as a blogger, entertainment journalist, and a rather talented comedian. Álvarez got her start on TV as the host of "Film Days" in 2013. She got the role partially thanks to her already popular film blog, "Blame It on the Script," which showcased her talent as a writer and went on to win a Bitácora award for best TV and film blog in 2014.
Álvarez co-hosted the comedy podcast "Buenismo Bien de la Cadena SER" in 2018, which, according to its bio, is where she, actor Manuel Burque, and journalist Quique Peinado "interview their references and make them laugh." Álvarez also made people laugh on the TV series "Las Que Missing," when she became a collaborator on the women-driven sketch comedy and talk show after joining it during its second season in 2019, per verTele!.
Around that time, Álvarez was getting a lot of praise for her monologue on the late night show "Late Motiv," where she showed off her unapologetic sense of humor by poking fun at sexual stigmas that women face. The video not only went viral when shared on the show's Twitter, but also got her praise from fellow Spanish actors and journalists. And of course, as we know from its headline-making ban on Twitch, Álvarez is one of the hosts of the talk show "Esto Es un Late" on Spanish Amazon Prime.
She's a mom
While Henar Álvarez definitely has a busy career, she also has the important role of being a mom. From the looks of her Instagram, Álvarez has a toddler son whom she loves to post photos of, whether they're playing games together or snuggling up for a bedtime story. The comedian has also posted silly videos with him on "how to be a mother without drama" where she jokingly offers tips like "Less caring and more being taken care of."
On a more serious note, Álvarez credits her son for helping her get through the COVID-19 pandemic. She captioned a photo of them together, writing, "Luckily I have him. I imagine this quarantine without my little one and it would have been infinitely sadder than it already is." She also shared how they spent their time, adding, "We've made up hundreds of stories, we've played the drums, we've cuddled on the couch watching movies."
Although it's unclear if Álvarez is married, she seems to have a relationship with her son's father, since she's posted photos of them together as a family on several occasions. The mom gave him a shoutout in a throwback post showing her pregnant, writing, "I chose well, friends. He is the best father to his son." It's clear from her full life that there's a lot more to Álvarez than her breast-flashing controversy.