In a shocking, and frankly disgusting, turn of events, vocal #MeToo advocate Asia Argento finds herself on the other side of the debate, as information comes out that she “preyed” on a younger man in 2013.
The New York Times reports that documents obtained show that Argento, who is one of the many women that came out with sexual assault stories against Harvey Weinstein, settled a claim with a young actor in 2013 about a sexual encounter both had in a California hotel room. The young actor, Jimmy Bennett, claims that the sexual assault happened when he was 17 years old. He sued Argento for $3.5 million, but before the suit was public, he and the actress settled for $380,000.
In documents obtained by NYT, the lawyer who presided over the settlement said, “We hope nothing like this ever happens to you again. You are a powerful and inspiring creator and it is a miserable condition of life that you live among shitty individuals who’ve preyed on both your strengths and your weaknesses,” said Carrie Goldberg.
It’s unclear how the incident took place, but as mentioned, Bennett and Argento shared a hotel room when he was just two months past his 17th birthday and the actress was 37. The age of consent in California is 18. Included in the documents is a selfie taken, showing both parties in bed together. And the New York Times has confirmed through multiple sources involved in the case that the documents and selfie are real.
The original suit that Bennett was to file back in 2013 claimed that due to the trauma inflicted by Argento, the young actor lost work and saw his yearly income drop dramatically. Before the alleged incident, Bennett had starred in a variety of films, including 2009’s “Star Trek” reboot, where he played a young James Kirk. In an interesting, if not very strange given the future encounter, role Bennett played Argento’s son in the 2004 film “The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things,” which she directed.
Bennett says he has left the film industry altogether and is now focusing on his music. Argento has yet to comment on this new development.
One person who is definitely reacting is none other than #MeToo advocate Rose McGowan. In a tweet, she said, “I got to know Asia Argento ten months ago. Our commonality is the shared pain of being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein. My heart is broken. I will continue my work on behalf of victims everywhere.”
I got to know Asia Argento ten months ago. Our commonality is the shared pain of being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein. My heart is broken. I will continue my work on behalf of victims everywhere.
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) August 20, 2018