Asia Argento is breaking her silence on Anthony Bourdain’s suicide … saying his death left a hole that can’t be filled, and anger was the only thing that kept her from taking her own life. Tears streamed down Asia’s face as she…
Showing posts with label Argento. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Argento. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Thursday, September 13, 2018
Asia Argento Resurfaces for First Time After Bennett"s Sexual Assault Claim
Asia Argento isn’t hiding anymore … she’s showing her face in public for the first time since Jimmy Bennett’s claim she sexually assaulted him when he was 17. The Italian actress resurfaced on the streets of Rome, going out for a…
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Asia Argento Says 17-Year-Old Jimmy Bennett Sexually Assaulted Her
Asia Argento says Jimmy Bennett — who had sex with her when he was 17 years old — is lucky she didn’t file charges that HE sexually assaulted and then extorted her. Argento’s lawyer, Mark Jay Heller, tells TMZ, his client’s text messages that TMZ…
Sunday, September 2, 2018
Asia Argento Episodes on Anthony Bourdain"s "Parts Unknown" Pulled by CNN
Episodes featuring Asia Argento in any form have been yanked from the late Anthony Bourdain’s hit TV show “Parts Uknown” following accusations of sexual misconduct. CNN confirmed this weekend that it had removed 3 ‘Parts Unknown’ episodes from its…
Monday, August 27, 2018
Rose McGowan Challenges Asia Argento to "Be Better" Than Harvey Weinstein
Rose McGowan is clearly disappointed in Asia Argento for allegedly sexually assaulting Jimmy Bennett but adds, Asia’s case makes her realize even the accused deserved due process. Rose issued a lengthy statement Monday about…
Asia Argento Fired from "X Factor Italy" After Sexual Assault Allegations
Asia Argento has been axed from “X Factor Italy” after evidence surfaced she had sex with a 17-year-old boy. Seven episodes are already in the can with Argento as one of the judges and those episodes will air, but she’s been cut from the live shows…
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Jimmy Bennett Breaks Silence on Asia Argento Rape Accusation
Jimmy Bennett has spoken out for the first time since his allegations of sexual assault against Asia Argento went public.
In a case that has received national attention, and about which the reporting has gone through a number of twists and turns, the 22-year old actor says Argento raped him back when he was 17 years old.
She was 37 years old at the time.
Bennett has known Argento since the two worked on a 2004 film together.
According to documents obtained by The New York Times, he claims that she plied him with alcohol and forced herself on him inside a hotel room about five years ago.
He made this allegations several months ago because Argento was in the news for making her own rape allegations against Harvey Weinstein.
In response to the accusation, Argento paid Bennett a sum of $ 380,000.
However, she has said she was prompted to do so by then-boyfriend Anthony Bourdain in order to 1. Help Bennett financially and 2. Make the issue go away.
Argento has strongly denied having any sexual contact with Bennett, as you can see in her statement below:
HOWEVER, a photo has since surfaced that appears to show Argento and Bennett in bed.
Moreover, there also appears to be a text message chain (down below) in which Argento admits to a friend that she slept with Bennett, while saying the actor initiated this interaction and has basically been obsessed with her ever since.
So that’s where we stand.
That’s the background to Bennett’s first statement on the confusing, disturbing scandal.
We’re just going to publish the entire statement here and allow our readers to make up their own minds about what may or may not have transpired between Bennett and Argento…
Many brave women and men have spoken out about their own experiences during the #MeToo movement, and I appreciate the bravery that it took for each and every one of them to take such a stand.
I did not initially speak out about my story because I chose to handle it in private with the person who wronged me.
My trauma resurfaced as she came out as a victim herself. I have not made a public statement in the past days and hours because I was ashamed and afraid to be part of the public narrative.
I was underage when the event took place, and I tried to seek justice in a way that made sense to me at the time because I was not ready to deal with the ramifications of my story becoming public.
At the time I believed there was still a stigma to being in the situation as a male in our society.
I didn’t think that people would understand the event that took place from the eyes of a teenage boy.
I have had to overcome many adversities in my life, and this is another that I will deal with, in time. I would like to move past this event in my life, and today I choose to move forward, no longer in silence.
This is a photo of Bennett and Argento:
Argento became a prominent leader of the #MeToo movement following her accusations against Weinstein.
(Dozens of other women have made similar accusations of assault against the producers in the days, weeks and months since.)
She was also in the news this summer after Bourdin tragically committed suicide.
Argento denied Bennett’s rape allegations in a statement to New York Magazine on Tuesday, August 21, saying:
“I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false. I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett.”
In one of the texts below, though, Argento appears to write:
“I had sex with him it felt weird. I didn’t know he was a minor until the shakedown letter.”
You can read more of these text messages here:
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Asia Argento Text Messages: The 17-Year-Old Came On to ME!
One of Harvey Weinstein"s many, many accusers who has come forward was Asia Argento.
Now, Asia herself is accused of sexual battery of a minor and of having paid hush money to the now-22-year-old former child actor to cover up an alleged sexual encounter from when he was 17 … and she was 37.
In public, she has denied that this took place. But screenshots of some private text messages tell another story.
TMZ got their hands on some text messages that appear to show Asia confiding in a friend about the situation and what the public doesn"t know. You can see mock-ups of these text messages below.
Asia has apparently been telling confidants that Jimmy Bennett was the sexual aggressor, and that he continued to send her unsolicited nudes up until two weeks before sending her a shakedown letter.
As you are about to see, Asia seems to consider herself a victim.
She also says that the late, great Anthony Bourdain, whom she had been dating before his passing, encouraged her to keep this story under wraps.
Take a look:
1. Asia says that he came onto her
Obviously, she can’t tell her side of the story if she says that there IS no story
2. She says that she didn’t know that he was a minor
We get that she’s Italian and so might not be hung up on the number 18 like Americans are, but “when in Rome” absolutely goes both ways. It is the adult’s responsibility.
3. Does she have evidence of his years of unsolicited nudes?
We guess that she never felt like she would one day need to have them as evidence.
4. So, why didn’t she report the shakedown letter?
Apparently, her late boyfriend Anthony Bourdain also encouraged her to do it quietly.
5. She does have some reciepts, though
80 pages is a lot. The guy’s a former child actor.
6. She has other evidence from that time
No one wants to see their loved one dragged through the court of public opinion, especially at such a pivotal moment.
Asia Argento and 17-Year-Old Boy in Bed in Sexual Encounter
Asia Argento says she did not have sex with then 17-year-old Jimmy Bennett, but a photo and various text messages between Argento and a friend tell a very different story … she flat-out says she had sex with him. This is one of 4 photos Bennett,…
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Asia Argento Says Anthony Bourdain Paid Off Her Rape Accuser
Asia Argento has broken her silence when it comes to this week’s very troubling accusation that she sexually assaulted an actor named Jimmy Bennett.
First, she strongly denies this allegation.
Second, she says that Anthony Bourdain actually played a major role in the disturbing and confusing story.
On Monday morning, The New York Times published a lengthy article in which it outlined how Argento paid Bennett $ 380,000 last year, ostensibly to settle the claim of rape he made against her out of court.
Based on legal documents, the newspaper described Bennett’s accusation in painstaking detail:
On May 9, 2013, when Argento was 37 years old and Bennett (an actor who had starred as her son in a 2004 film) was 17 years old, the two met at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, California.
Inside this room, Bennett alleges, Argento plied him with alcohol… performed oral sex on him … and then had sexual intercourse with him.
The allegation would be troubling under any circumstance, but Argento was one of the first women to accuse movie producer Harvey Weinstein of rape.
Right around the time she was going public with her grisly interactions with Weinstein, Argento was paying off Bennett for his silence.
This situation is not being denied by Argento.
But in her first comments since the assault charges came to light, she the Italian actress has vehemently proclaimed her innocence — and attempted to explain just why she gave Bennett all that money.
“I strongly deny and oppose the contents of the New York Times article…as circulated also in national and international news,” a statement from her agent said.
“I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false.
“I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett.”
Argento goes on to detail the circumstances surrounding her relationship with Bennett; both of their lives at the time; and the role Bourdain played in this scandalous incident:
I was linked to him during several years by friendship only, which ended when, subsequent to my exposure in the Weinstein case, Bennett – who was then undergoing severe economic problems and who had previously taken legal actions against his own family requesting millions in damages – unexpectedly made an exorbitant request of money from me.
Bennett knew my boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain, was of great perceived wealth and had his own reputation as a beloved public figure to protect.
Argento was dating Bourdain when the famous chef and author committed suicide several weeks ago.
She goes on to say that Bourdain was the one who pushed to make this $ 380,000 payment in order to keep the accusation out of the news, writing:
Antony [sic] insisted the matter be handled privately and this was also what Bennett wanted.
Anthony was afraid of the possible negativity that such person, whom he considered dangerous, could have brought upon us. 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 into our life.
Here is how Argento concludes her statement:
This is, therefore, the umpteeth development of a sequence of events that brings me great sadness and that constitutes a long-standing persecution.
I have therefore no other choice but to oppose such false allegation and will assume in the short term and all necessary initiatives for my protection before all competent venues.
We can’t say we saw this twist coming, that Argento would admit to the payout, deny the assault and claim Bourdain was actually the person who insisted on shoving the allegation under the carpet.
Bourdain, of course, is sadly not around to state his side of this story.
Considering the sensitive nature of this accusation, we’re not about to take sides ourselves here.
We’ll just report the facts and the statements as we know them and as we’ve read them and we’ll let our readers make up their own minds.
Do you believe what Argento is saying here?
Asia Argento Says Anthony Bourdain Paid Accuser Jimmy Bennett in Sexual Assault Case
Anthony Bourdain paid the $ 380,000 to Asia Argento’s sexual assault accuser … and denies she had sex with the then 17-year-old. Argento just released a statement, saying, “I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is…
Asia Argento, Jimmy Bennett Smoking Gun Photo Shows Post-Sex Bliss
A 37-year-old Asia Argento snuggled with then-17-year-old Jimmy Bennett on a bed, shirtless, their foreheads pressed together, her arm over his as they lay with satisfied smiles … that is the photo that Asia paid $ 380,000 for — a photo TMZ has…
Monday, August 20, 2018
Asia Argento Reportedly Paid $380,000 to Settle Sexual Assault Case
Asia Argento — one of Harvey Weinstein’s first accusers and a prominent figure in the #MeToo movement — reportedly paid off her own accuser, a then 17-year-old boy. The NYT cites documents it obtained outlining an agreement between Argento’s…
Friday, July 20, 2018
Asia Argento Shares Photo with Anthony Bourdain Taken Days Before His Suicide
Asia Argento’s still grieving the loss of Anthony Bourdain. The actress shared a personal photo Thursday of herself with her late boyfriend … the 2 are in a red convertible looking happy, with the ‘Parts Unknown’ host smirking while holding…
Monday, June 11, 2018
Rose McGowan: Don"t Blame Asia Argento For Anthony Bourdain"s Death!
Last week, the food world lost a true icon when Anthony Bourdain was found dead of an apparent suicide in a hotel room in France.
He was 61 years old.
Days later, details about the events surrounding Bourdain’s death are slowly beginning to trickle in, but the question of what could have driven one of the most widely-envied men on the planet to take his own life remains unanswered.
Fans and media outlets were quick to point out some unusual social media activity from Bourdain’s longtime girlfriend, Asia Argento, in the hours before the news of his passing became public knowledge.
An image in which the actress is seen wearing a shirt that reads “F-ck Off,” coupled with photos of Argento apparently vacationing with a male friend in France prompted a widespread theory that Bourdain was distraught over relationship problems.
In the final months of his life, Bourdain was an outspoken advocate of the #MeToo movement, and his activism brought him close to some of the most high-profile victims of sexual harassment in Hollywood, including the actress Rose McGowan.
Bourdain and McGowan quickly became close friends, and today, she published an open letter in which she addresses both his death and the rumors about his alleged relationship troubles.
“Sitting across from me is the remarkable human and brave survivor, Asia Argento, who has been through more than most could stand, and yet stand she does,” the letter reads.
“She stood up to her monster rapist and now she has to stand up to yet another monster, suicide. The suicide of her beloved lover and ally, Anthony Bourdain.”
McGowan goes on to claim that Bourdain and Argento were in an open relationship, and she implies he would not have been upset by the sight of Argento with another man:
“Anthony and Asia had a free relationship, they loved without borders of traditional relationships, and they established the parameters of their relationship early on,” McGowan states.
“Asia is a free bird, and so was Anthony. Was. Such a terrible word to write,” she adds.
“I’ve heard from many that the past two years they were together were some of his happiest and that should give us all solace.”
She later states:
“It is in no way fair or acceptable to blame her or anyone else, not even Anthony.”
McGowan says she’s angry about her friend’s death, but she also pleads for sympathy from those who feel that he took his own life out of selfishness or a lack of concern for his loved ones.
Shortly after learning of Bourdain’s death, Argento addressed the matter on Instagram, writing:
“His brilliant, fearless spirit touched and inspired so many, and his generosity knew no bounds. He was my love, my rock, my protector. I am beyond devastated. My thoughts are with his family. I would ask that you respect their privacy and mine.”
We’ll have further details on this developing story as more information becomes available.
Rose McGowan Says Don"t Blame Anthony Bourdain"s GF Asia Argento
Rose McGowan is defending her friend, and Anthony Bourdain’s girlfriend, Asia Argento … saying there is NO reason to play the blame game after his suicide. Rose says she knows people who knew Anthony, or just loved him on TV, want to “lash out and…
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Asia Argento Seen Leaving Home Day After Anthony Bourdain"s Suicide
Asia Argento headed out with her daughter Saturday … to face the world without Anthony Bourdain. The Italian actress was spotted for the first time since the tragic news broke of Bourdain’s suicide … leaving her home in Rome and getting into a…
Friday, June 8, 2018
Anthony Bourdain and GF Asia Argento Seemed Close Until This Week
Anthony Bourdain and Asia Argento seemed as tight as ever just last week … but it appears something changed earlier this week. Asia, an Italian actress and director, also worked on Bourdain’s show, ‘Parts Unknown.’ They were on a shoot together in…
Monday, May 21, 2018
Asia Argento to Cannes: Harvey Weinstein Raped Me and Some of You Knew
The 2018 Cannes Film Festival came to a close, and Asia Argento delivered an incredible and jaw-dropping speech.
She did not mince words when it came to Harvey Weinstein, whom she accuses of rape.
See her powerful speech in the accompanying video and feel the weight of her words.
"I have a few words to say," Asia"s speech begins.
Reportedly, the organizers did not know what she planned to say in her speech.
"In 1997, I was raped by Harvey Weinstein, here at Cannes. I was 21 years old."
Asia was one of the very first women to come forward and accuse him of sexual assault.
"This festival was his hunting ground."
According to the accusations — which are numerous — he had a number of hunting grounds.
Asia continues:
"I want to make a prediction."
This is her hope for the future, and she"s displaying an astounding degree of optimism that tomorrow will be better than yesterday.
"Harvey Weinstein will never be welcomed here ever again."
The entire world hopes that, at the very least.
Though we should consider, for a moment, how low the bar is set when a woman who accuses a man of one of the most evil deeds possible…
… To be speaking about him facing social and professional consequences instead of expressing the hope that he will spend the rest of his life beyond bars.
Asia continues to describe a better future.
"He will live in disgrace."
And then come the professional consequences:
"Shunned by a film community that once embraced him."
And she"s not afraid to call out the people who were complicit.
"… And covered up for his crimes."
Then she really turns up the heat.
"And even tonight, sitting among you, there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct towards women."
She continues:
"For a behavior that does not belong in this industry — does not belong in any industry or workplace."
She is absolutely right.
"You know who you are."
We would point out that perhaps some of them do not know who they are. There are plenty of sexual predators in the world who never realized that their actions have left a trail of suffering behind them.
Perhaps the #MeToo movement has made them realize the harm that they"ve done.
"But most importantly, we know who you are."
That is important, yes.
"And we"re not going to allow you to get away with it any longer."
Asia"s speech was met with well-deserved applause.
Sadly, there is a long way to go before people can even hope to see justice for all of the horrible crimes committed within the entertainment industry and beyond.
What"s worse is that some people are already talking about "comebacks."
Surely we can all agree that rapists belong behind bars at the very least.
Surely we can also agree that serial harassers and abusers don"t deserve a "comeback" in an industry that they once treated as a hunting ground.
Harvey Weinstein has always denied the many, many allegations against him, and it is possible that thanks to the passage of time and the woeful inadequacy of the legal system, he will never see the inside of a prison cell.
But perhaps #MeToo and #TimesUp can create a better future. One without sex monsters.
That, we think, is what has Asia Argento filled with optimism.
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Harvey Weinstein Accused of Raping Asia Argento, Forcing Himself on Rosanna Arquette, Mira Sorvino
Last week, the New York Times published an exposé detailing three decades of sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the wildly successful and influential film mogul who rose to power as co-founder of both Miramax and the Weinstein Company.
The piece contained a number of shocking revelations, such as the fact that Weinstein settled out of court with no fewer than eight women who accused him of sexual assault or harassment.
Within days of the report going public, Weinstein was fired from the company he helped to build after a board of directors meeting that reportedly devolved into a screaming match.
In the days leading up to his dismissal, Weinstein sent letters to many of his most powerful allies begging for them to help save his career and restore his reputation.
We may never know who responded to the 64-year-old’s pleas, but those who ignored him are likely glad they did, as a new report published today by the New Yorker paints an even more appalling portrait of Weinstein as an unrepentant sexual predator.
Over the course of a ten-month investigation, journalist Ronan Farrow claims to have spoken with 13 women who were harrassd or assaulted by Weinstein.
He also interviewed 16 current and former executives and assistants at the Weinstein Company who say they have witnessed verying degrees of sexual misconduct from Weinstein.
The piece also an incriminating audio recording from an NYPD investigation in which Weinstein attempts to coerce a reluctant woman into entering his hotel room.
When she protests and accuses him of grabbing her breast without consent, Weinstein responds that he is “used to” engaging in that sort of behavior.
Most shocking of all is the article’s revelation that Weinstein raped or attempted to rape several women over the years, including famed actresses Rosanna Arquette, Mira Sorvino, and Asia Argento.
Argento says that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her when she was just 21 years olf.
“‘He asks me to give a massage. I was, like, “Look man, I am no f–king fool,"” Argento tells The New Yorker.
“But, looking back, I am a f–king fool. And I am still trying to come to grips with what happened,” she adds.
Argento says she kept the encounter to herself for fear that Weinsteinwould “crush” her and ruin her career.
“I know he has crushed a lot of people before,” Argento said.
“That’s why this story—in my case, it’s twenty years old, some of them are older—has never come out.”
Sorvino says she was able to rebuff Weinstein’s advances, but she believes doing so resulted in irrevocable damage to her career.
“There may have been other factors, but I definitely felt iced out and that my rejection of Harvey had something to do with it,” she tells the magazine.
Thus far, Weinstein and his legal team have yet to respond to this latest round of allegations.
We’ll have further updates on this story as more information becomes available.
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