Italian actor Asia Argento, one of the first women to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, has denied a report that she had a sexual relationship with an underage male and later paid him off.
A New York Times report claims she secretly paid off a young male actor, who was 17 at the time. The actor later accused her of sexual misconduct in the months after her revelations about Weinstein.
Argento 42, said the assault never happened. However, she did say a payment was made to child actor Jimmy Bennett by her then-boyfriend, the late Anthony Bourdain, who thought it would be prudent to deal with the matter privately as they were already in the middle of the Weinstein scandal. Bourdain
This is, therefore, the umpteenth 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 allegations and will assume in the short term all necessary initiatives for my protection before all competent venues."
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