‘Heartbroken’ Rose McGowan Reacts To Shocking Sexual Assault Allegations Against Asia Argento
Rose McGowan is speaking out about her relationship with Asia Argento, one of the first stars to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, on the heels of a scathing New York Times report that claims Argento paid off a sexual assault accuser of her own.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, new legal documents allege that Argento paid former child actor Jimmy Bennett $380,000 to keep quiet after he accused her of sexually assaulting him when he was a minor. Bennett claims that in 2013, Argento, then 37, invited him to her California hotel room shortly after his 17th birthday. The Italian actress reportedly gave the child star alcohol and proceeded to sexually assault him.
The alleged incident took place 16 years after Argento claims to have been raped by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Argento, who first worked with Bennett on the movie The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things when he was just 7-years old, reportedly paid the young actor the hush money a few months after she raised her revelations about the disgraced movie mogul. According to the legal documents, Bennett’s lawyers claim that Argento’s presentation of herself as a victim of sexual assault and her high-profile role in the #MeToo movement triggered memories of his own assault.
Weinstein accuser Asia Argento ‘paid child star Jimmy Bennett, who said she sexual assaulted him’ https://t.co/4sqld6uTV6
— South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews) August 20, 2018
Rose McGowan, who blew the lid off of the Weinstein story last October, has been a staunch supporter of Argento after they shared stories of allegedly being attacked by Weinstein. Argento once described Weinstein as a “monster rapist.”
McGowan took to Twitter to respond to the new allegations against Argento.
“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.”
McGowan also recently supported Argento, a mom of two, following the suicide death of her boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain. McGowan warned Bourdain’s fans not to blame Argento for the death of the celebrity chef, who had struggled with depression, urging them not to point fingers at the 42-year-old actress for not getting him help.
“Many of these people who lost their ‘friend’ are wanting to lash out and blame. You must not sink to that level. Suicide is a horrible choice, but it is that person’s choice,” McGowan said in a statement, per Variety.
McGowan went on to say that Argento worked through her own struggles with depression after coming forward with harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein. McGowan said Argento “did the work to get help, so she could stay alive and live another day for her and her children.”
