Asia Argento accused of sexual assault: Rose McGowan heartbroken
According to a new report, actress Asia Argento, one of the first prominent women to accuse disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, agreed to pay off her own sexual assault accuser. Fellow #MeToo activist and Weinstein accuser Rose McGowan says her 'heart is broken.'
Mira Sorvino, one of the women who spearheaded the #MeToo Movement, has spoken out about the recent allegation that Italian actress Asia Argento sexually assaulted a young male actor and secretly paid him off.
On Wednesday morning, Sorvino, one of the dozens of women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct, took to Twitter to express her reaction to the Argento news after returning from "several weeks abroad."
"I have been heartsick over the recent allegations against Asia Argento. Time will clarify things and perhaps she will be exonerated, but if true, there is no lens that makes it better," Sorvino's statement read. "Child sexual assault is a heinous crime and is against all that I and the #MeToo movement stands for. I remain dedicated in the fight for all victims and change the culture that encourages the abuse of power in sexual relationships."
Ashley Judd, another #MeToo spear-header and Mira Sorvino at the 2018 Academy Awards. (AP)
She added that she hopes "it is not true."
On Sunday, The New York Times published an article claiming that Argento had set up a sexual encounter with 17-year-old actor, Jimmy Bennet, back in 2013. A relationship between the 37-year-old actress and the young actor would be considered illegal in the state of California where the age of consent for the state is 18.
The article went on to claim that Argento paid Bennett $380,000 after his lawyers threatened to sue the actress for sexual assault. The paper also obtained a photograph dated May 9, 2013 that showed the two lying in a bed together.
Since the news of the scandal broke, Argento, who like Sorvino, was one of the first women to speak out about her sexual assault experience with Weinstein, denied the claims in a statement released on Tuesday.
In the statement, the actress said that she was linked to Bennett by “friendship only” which ended when he made “an exorbitant request of money” amid financial problems. Argento said her then-boyfriend, late celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, decided to pay Bennett.
“Antony [sic] insisted the matter be handled privately and this was also what Bennett wanted. Anthony was afraid of the possible negative publicity that such person, whom he considered dangerous, could have brought upon us,” she said. “We decided to deal compassionately with Bennett’s demand for help and give it to him. Anthony personally undertook to help Bennett economically, upon the condition that we would no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life.”
Despite denying she engaged in a sexual relationship with the 17-year-old actor, TMZ obtained texts and screenshots that showed Argento appearing to admit to a friend that she and Bennet did have sex.
Fox News’ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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