MADRID (AP) — Plácido Domingo has sought to blame the allegations of sexual harassment against him on cultural differences between countries, adding that there are places nowadays where “one can’t say anything to a woman.”

In an interview published Wednesday in Spanish leading daily El Páis, the Madrid-born tenor said “here (in Spain) it’s not like that but in other places, and specifically in those groups from where the accusations come, it is.”

The Associated Press reported earlier this year allegations in the United States by more than 20 women of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior. Some claimed that rejecting his advances hurt their musical careers.

Domingo, 78, denies the allegations, which led to cancellations of contracts in the United States, but not in Europe.