As I’ve said before, I couldn’t even keep Asia Argento’s story straight. I doubt she could keep her story straight either – she seemed to be telling different people different things about Jimmy Bennett. We know that Argento, Anthony Bourdain and Argento’s lawyers arranged to pay Jimmy Bennett a private settlement of $380,000. We also know that Argento seemed to admit that she and Bennett had some kind of sexual relationship when speaking to other people, but that she denied that it happened in her own public statement. Bennett made a public statement after the news of a settlement came out, where Bennett spoke about not wanting to come forward because of the stigma of being a man or boy who is sexually assaulted. I believed him. I believed Asia Argento got him drunk and raped him when he was just 17. I believed that he had no desire to tell his story publicly, but as he saw Argento embraced by the Me Too community, he was left feeling unsettled. Anyway, Argento has more to say…
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 posted tell the real story about what went down at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, CA. The text in question read, “The horny kid jumped me … I had sex with him it felt weird.” She goes on to say she was “frozen” when he was on top of her. Heller says, “Asia chose at the time not to prosecute Bennett for sexually attacking her.”
As for her statement after the story broke — “I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett” — Heller says she was being honest because it was a one-time only encounter and not a relationship.
Heller goes on to claim Bennett smelled a payday and tried to extort Argento, especially when he found out she was dating Anthony Bourdain. He says Bennett “chose to intrude on that relationship and demand financial payment from Bourdain in consideration for not embarrassing Asia and indirectly Bourdain …”
Heller says Anthony chose to protect Asia by agreeing to pay $380k even though she did nothing wrong. And, Heller says, Bourdain paid $250k up to this point, but Argento will not pay the balance.
Heller ends by attacking Bennett, saying, “Asia does not intend to prosecute Bennett for his conduct and recognizes that his unfortunate past, his stalled acting career, and a lawsuit against his own parents for allegedly misappropriating more than a million and a half dollars from his account might explain his desperation to seek money from Asia and Bourdain for this falsely alleged incident that took place more than 5 years ago.”
The attack against Bennett is odd … because Argento has spoken out against shaming alleged victims in sexual assault cases. Bennett claims he was indeed sexually assaulted by Argento.
I’m already really tired today so I’m not going to beat around the bush. Here’s what I think: I think Argento is a manipulative predator who sexually assaulted a 17 year old boy, then manipulated her boyfriend (Bourdain) into paying the kid off. I think she’s only saying Bennett assaulted her because she doesn’t have the money to pay off the rest of the settlement. Maybe I’m wrong. But good God, this is awful. What she’s doing to this young man is really unsettling.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
Would everyone who saw this coming please raise your hand? Mine is up.
Yep. For me it started with her very strange Instagram posts before and after Bourdain’s death. That’s when I knew something was not right with this woman.
I really really really hate that Anthony bourdains name had been dragged into this sorry mess after his death.
Yes, it is very unfortunate that Bourdain has been dragged into this. I don’t think Jimmy’s decision to seek compensation had anything to do with her relationship with Bourdain. I think her decision to be the face of #MeToo re-victimized him and he decided to act. That she was with Bourdain when that happened, is coincidence.
I also think Bourdain loaned, not gifted, her the money for the settlement. She is clearly broke but had income in the pipeline from her show in Italy and her appearances on Parts Unknown.
Had a shit feeling about her from the second I saw her on a Parts Unknown episode.
She continues to victimize him. Rot in hell, bi*ch.
She really has no shame and no empathy. Just…so disgusting. Ican’t believe that someone who claimed so much suffering from her own sexual abuse is ready to victimize, gaslight and trample all over a victim again, again and again. She is playing every prejudice about male sexual abuse that ever was, I just don’t get how is she so delusional to think we’ll buy it.
Motion seconded. All in favor of cancelling her entirely for all eternity, please say “aye”.
It’s unanimous, the “ayes” have it. Motion carried, and this predatory troll shall rot in hell.
+1
The victim becomes Victor over her own victim – the mind boggles. Sociopathy? Narcissism?
What about what she did to Bourdain? I think she pushed him over the edge.
There’s really no way to say that’s the case, though. He admitted to being suicidal at the end of other relationships (notably, his first marriage) and had struggles with mental health. I find Asia as abhorrent as everyone else here, but suicide is a very personal decision.
This certainly is just my own observation and opinion, but I’ve noticed through the years dealing with mental health issues in various capacities that suicidal/depressed people tend to gravitate toward one of 2 types during their low moments; 1) Saviors they think can “help” them or 2) Soul’s equally as tortured as they are which helps one feel “understood”, in some way. That sort of familiarity brings comfort.
Naturally, that’s a blanket statement and not applicable for everyone suffering from depression or suicidal. Had he possibly felt some kinship with her on some level? She seems to be struggling with something, too. No excuse on her behavior, however. I have a son almost this boy’s age.
Curious if anyone has thoughts on this…
She is wretched and manipulative but I don’t think his suicide (especially since he had a daughter he adored) should/can be reduced to a single person or incident.
That’s not fair. But why did he stay with her? He was no saint but this woman is clearly not normal.
I think getting mixed up in her stressed out craziness played a part in Bourdain’s depression yes. From her public outrage at HW to this mess was probably too much for someone who was emotionally fragile to bear. I have struggled with depression and have very little tolerance for relational drama.
I know he was depressed, but he also had addictions and hanging around toxic people… It just a recipe for disaster.
It is insane that at the same time i feel sorry for her and want to bitch slap her, verbally not literally.
I think when he woke up and saw what kind of situations he got involved in based on believing her lies, he felt humiliated and heartbroken, shamed and sick to his soul. (As would I if I gave a large chunk of money to someone my partner raped, lied about and continued to abuse.) Those feelings could trigger depression and hopeless despair that can lead to a suicide, but his decision on how to deal with them is his own. I have huge compassion for him and I wish he could have seen a way forward.
I agree. Suicide was his decision alone. But the timing is not coincidental. He suffered from depression and likely had little emotional reserve to deal with such a horrible woman and the ugly situation she involved him in. Her actions caused his reactions, in part at least, and I have no problem holding her responsible for what she did to him.
This is really awful.
It’s the grooming aspect that gross me out the most. She has known him since he was 8 years old… and she called him “my son” in social media posts before she met and slept with him. That is what make this inexcusable to me.
I feel like some people are trying to excuse her, because he was 17, which is legal in some other states (not california). And if they just met while he was 17 and they slept together, I might just have shrugged. And I really want to believe I would have felt the same if the genders were reversed and and they just met (and no force was used)…
But think about what she might have said to him, when they have met while he grew up. It let to them in bed together…. to me, she is the female version of Woody Allen. Maybe she can save herself by marrying him (JK)
This 100% . It’s the fact she first knew him when he was 8. It’s hard not to read in a strong grooming element to what happened imo
Ahhhh! Don’t give Woody Alan any ideas!!! He might just cast her in his next shitty, neurotic film.
I hadn’t known she had known him since he was a little boy. There goes her, “he assaulted me.” I’ve known boys since they’ve been small children, and there’s no way in hell I would.
No new development there, she is blaming the victim again and just ran over her dead boyfriend. Yet again. I can’t believe I would ever use a predator as an example, but she needs to take a cue from all the other predators and just go away.
I do think she has no reason to pay him.
He should file charges against her.
She is a truly revolting individual.
Truth! “The horny child” – He may or may not have been horny but you still were the adult so it is your responsibility to stay away from kids! It’s that easy!
key word – child. She called him a child. Total acknowledgement that she thought of him as a child. She’s an idiot. I wish she would just STFU. Go away skeezey.
She’s a horrible, disgusting, selfish POS! This is a move straight out of Harvey Weinstein’s playbook.
I mean, as a purely contractual matter he was paid money in exchange for silence – so if he’s not silent, what does he expect? It’s not enforceable against her – either because he breached the contract by speaking out, or because the contract was never valid anyway as against public policy, or because its purpose was to waive his rights as a victim of a crime, or for incapacity (not sure if he was still a minor at the time – but now that he’s not he could always choose to enforce a contract made while a minor, if it was otherwise legally valid).
Here’s the thing: I’m not excusing Asia’s behavior. Only pointing out that of course she’s not going to continue paying on a contract if she didn’t get the “benefit of the bargain” they made. I doubt the contract would be legally enforceable anyway if it was made to keep him from reporting a crime.
So here we are. She’s gross, and if he complains about not getting the money then it feeds the narrative that he’s just trying to extort her.
So if he wants some measure of relief, he needs to either press charges or sue for civil tort damages (or both) provided that the respective statutes of limitation haven’t already run. She can’t weasel out of a money judgment quite so easily…
And those are Enny’s legal musings for this morning. Come back later to hear my thoughts on whether orange Cheetos are actually people within the meaning of the constitution…
(I need a nap now)
Excellent points, Enny, thanks for that insight.
TRUTH. With everything that has come to light civil suit or criminal charges are his only avenues to move forward. Asia obviously cannot move forward publicly with a payout she has characterized as extortion and her victim cannot press her for the balance of the “hush money” because even if that was a mutually-agreed-upon contract he is in breach.
Also, while there is a sense of justice/attempting to balance the scale to legal damages, Asia continuing to give money to her victim without a legal judgement just feeds the narrative that throwing money at someone “makes them go away” and devalues legitimate trauma.
But she specifically did NOT make him sign a NDA if previous stories are correct (as she was very vocally against those), so that’s not true.
Wut? Don’t know what you’re getting at. What NDA? Why would there be a NDA if there was a contract stating I’ll pay you x if you don’t reveal y? Or are you saying she was paying him for something other than his silence? If so, the only thing I can think of is sexual services rendered, and just…ew. Also, DEFINITELY BEYOND A DOUBT UNENFORCEABLE. Sheesh.
Enny – an NDA is the contract you’re talking about. There wasn’t one.
I heard that California law does not allow her to have him sign an NDA
It would just be redundant anyway. But that’s assuming any agreement between them was under CA law. We don’t know the content of the agreement, only that she’s allegedly been paying him money in the aftermath of what appears to have been either a sexual assault or, at a minimum, statutory rape. But even though the allegations concern things that happened in CA (and I assume Bennett lives there), Bourdain lived in NY, probably Argento too. It’s just as likely NY law would apply (but we don’t know since we don’t know the full content of the agreement, such as any forum selection or choice of law clauses).
Actually he wasn’t paid for silence. The contract stipulated that, regarding his allegations, he could not sue her, post the incriminating picture of them, ask for more money, or “disparage” her. It is governed by CA law. Theoretically, Argento could have legally wrangled the contract to be governed by NY laws, but apparently decided against it on principle. 🤷🏻♀️
Carrie Goldberg, Argento’s lawyer in this matter, explained this to Argento in a letter:
““Ultimately, you decided against the non-disclosure language because you felt it was inconsistent with the public messages you’ve conveyed about the societal perils of non-disclosure agreements,” she wrote to Ms. Argento.
“Bennett could theoretically tell people his claims against you,” she wrote. “However, under this agreement, he cannot sue you for them. Nor can he post the photo of the two of you.”
“At the very least,” Ms. Goldberg added, “he is not permitted to bother you for more money, disparage you or sue — so long as you comply with your obligations in the agreement.””
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/19/us/asia-argento-assault-jimmy-bennett.html
I don’t know how they defined “disparage” in the contract. But I don’t believe Bennett violated the contract. The contract and related documents were sent to the NYTimes anonymously. Since she stopped paying, she didn’t comply with the contract, so he is no longer bound by its terms.
Thank you. Some people commenting without knowing the facts. The contract WAS under CA law so there was not a confidentiality provision.
I think he probably did violate it. How did this all come out? Did he talk to weinstein’s Team? Did he show someone the photo/ texts knowing they’d release them but kept his own hands clean by not releasing them himself? I mean, he’s accused her of committing a crime against him – I’d say that fits the definition of disparage, otherwise why would she pay him? This was precisely the sort of situation the agreement was designed to protect.
@ Enny
Definitely if she’s not bound by law to pay him, there’s no legal reason for her to continue.
But I wanna know now is, If Bourdain gave her that $380k for her to pay him off, is she bound by any legal agreement to him? Like because it’s his money, she’s not allowed to not do what they agreed with it?
And say she isn’t, I wanna know why she didn’t pay him off the full amount right away? Did she just take Bourdain’s money and now is trying to keep the over 100k for herself?
I don’t think Bourdain gave her a lump sum, he was making the payments in installments on her behalf. They stopped when Bourdain died, which I guess is why Bennett felt justified in spilling. So I guess her obligation Depends on who was legally obligated to pay under the original contract. If it was Bourdain, on her behalf, then the legal responsibility would fall to his estate, and bennett would just have a surrogate’s court claim in NY (provided he hasn’t also breeched the agreement), and Asia would have no claim to that money. If she’s the one obligated, but had a separate agreement with Bourdain to pay it for her, then she has to pay, if she breeched Bennett can do whatever, and she would only have a claim against bourdain’s estate for the money she owes Bennett (which is kinda moot now, if she already breeched, she’s not gonna start paying now that all the sh$t has hit the fan).
@ Enny
yes thank you! that was very informative. I assumed he had given her all to pay off Jimmy, didn’t know it was in instalments. That really sucks if they have tk take it out of his estate seeing as how little he supposedly left behind.
We don’t have any proof, whatsoever, that Bennet himself leaked it. On the basis of that, Argento has no argument for breakong the contract.
Bennet did not do anything but give a statement after the whole story was reported for days. So there is actually no basis for her to not pay him in full.
I mean, honestly, this is the woman who honestly thinks that she is the Weinstein’s victim, but Bennet is not hers. Who knows what kind of story she comocted on her own mind why she doesn’t want to pay anymore?! but I doubt it has anything to do with true, legal reasons.
your comment wins this post, in my opinion 😉 thanks for the legal insight & hope the nap was delish 🙂
Thanks nibbi! It was 🙂
Has anyone read the reviews for Steve jobs daughter book small fry is startling how abusive he was and how many people ignored it including his wife who still respected
I read an excerpt. He was horrible.
All I had to see was a few scenes from the movie. He was an asshole!
He basically played psychological warfare with her useing money to control her and spent most of her life humiliating her giving her scraps of affection then taking it away there a part where she’s at her sisters birthday and a guest asks who she is and her little sister says she’s her father’s mistake we know he was a crap father to her but the cruelty is breath taking the fact people I’ll make excuses for him is astounding I’m glad she finally being heard and his wife should be cancelled to
Anybody who thinks a person like Steve Jobs gets to where he is being a good person is kidding themselves. There’s no such thing as a good billionaire. Somewhere along the way, they abused or exploited someone to make that money.
That’s why we need to stop putting these people on pedalstals we make people think success is treating people like gods
I read and extract and felt very bad for Lisa. Jobs was a sadic with her.
Steve has been painted a Tech genius but he has never, ever been painted as a good person. People know/knew he was a controlling as*hole, its why he was let go the first time and it was widely know its why he was let go by Macintosh.
Bourdain, unfortunately, it seems, thought with his little head.
Argento is a sicko spoiled brat, and Bourdain realized it 100% by June. I believe someone threatened to go public with the hypocrisy etc and Bourdain knew his life in every way was over. Quite sad really.
Argento’s lawyer sounds like a treat. “….his stalled acting career”?referring to Bennett. How cheap and tacky! It sounds like King Don when he mentions “the failing New York Times.”
It’s irrelevant to make any reference to Bennett’s career. What’s he trying to pull?
It’s called disparaging the victim – a classic sexual predator move.
Not trying to defend her, she seems super duper creepy…. but why would she have to pay him anything else if he went public? Seems a settlement would be to keep quiet. I think she has bigger problems than this debt, but I don’t think that she has to keep paying him. Like, is that even a legal contract?
I know there’s no perfect victim, but this is just really trashy.
But this is one of the ways in which the circle of violence continues – some abused go on to be abusers.
Well, if you had any doubt as to what kind of person she really is, all of her behavior following this revelation should be clearing it up.
I have been tracking Asia for YEARS….
NONE of this…surprises me…
She has always disgusted me.
This is really gross, that they had sex and she’d known him since he was really a prepubescent child.
But to play devils advocate, this makes me wonder, let’s say a big and or strong seventeen year old boy rapes a petite woman, maybe they don’t even know each other, what ever. That’s not her raping him, despite the ages. So in this case we’re saying she’s a rapist becuase they knew each other. (And again, so gross)
@ Desolee
The scenario you propose is totally hypothetical and aside from the ages you suppose in it, there’s not much comparison to this real story.
Of course if an unsuspecting adult was raped by a minor they didn’t know it would be considered rape. That would 100% be considered an attack, and because the adult did not know the age of the attacker, they definitely would not be considered to have any intent to sexually exploit a minor.
However, you cannot take out the details of this story to fit a hypothetical like that, because the details do matter.
Asia knew he was a minor, and she was his acting coach (and one time director)—two positions of authority over him.
And say we choose to believe Asia that Jimmy had been making inappropriate sexual communication with her for years, and had a crush on her… she, as the adult, had the responsibility to put a stop to it.
But instead she invites him to get drunk in a hotel room with her, and proceeds to have sex with him—which by her own admission to Bourdain, she wanted to make clear he didn’t assault her. And by her own admission to her friend, she never thought sleeping with a 17yr old was considered wrong.
It is important to consider the details of this story, and not dimiss them. And also not try to compare it with a hypothetical so far removed from it.
She is a horrible, disgusting human being.
What if she got a judgment against HW for her assault and only got paid 2/3……
She won’t pay because the man she was manipulating and using for funding hung himself after he found out the truth about this predatory monster.
It is absolutely fair to say this creeps actions pushed a depressed human to the point of no return. Imagine finding out the person you trusted and saw as a light in a dark place was a damn liar who was no only a rapist but also used you for money and then cheats on you. You know he felt betrayed in the worst way.
Anthony saw the Me Too movement taking careers down and he found out he was sucked into a con artist rapists life. Do you really think his life and career and reputation and all he worked for and all the good he tried to do did not flash before his eyes? He more than likely did not think he could come back from such a hit. So then to him, a person who already struggled to find joy, he would have had a hard time finding a reason to go on in this messed up disgusting world.
Because what’s the point when you can’t trust anyone or anything and you think it’s all going to be taken away and your life will be tied up forever with sexual predators.
RIP to all who found this world too hard to go on. I’m so disgusted. Has anyone checked on Jimmy? Is the police investigation into this active?
He probably wouldn’t have been able to come back from this. I think all of this was going to be career ending for him. I agree with you btw.
^^Yes to all of this. So terribly sad 🙁
I mean – at the end of the day I don’t think you can say she pushed him. She was one of many circumstances that lead to this outcome.
That said – Anthony was a 61 year old man. He chose to lend or give her money to keep a young adult quiet about being assaulted by her. Even if she said “oh, he’s lying” he still decided to get involved. That should have raised a HUGE red flag. Normal people don’t just have random allegations surfacing out of thin air.
Anthony alone is responsible for ending his life, regardless of the trouble he was dealing with for becoming involved with Asia and the pay-off.
It is now the end of my day and I’m saying I do not believe any version of Asia’s events on any story she has ever told including and not limited to her story of it being AB’s idea to pay a young man to not sue her.
Her actions did not exist in a vacuum. There are consequences for the lies people tell. Lies absolutely can kill.
I’ve never once heard of someone walking away from a suicidal moment and saying, “I’ve decided not to end my life because I’m 61.” Or “Depression and the ruination of my life has passed me by and I can go on and live because I remembered my age.” That’s not how it works.
There were no drugs in his system. Can’t blame addiction for this. If you say that a situation can lead you to relapse in sobriety then you can accept that a situation can lead you to hang yourself. Do you know how we know this can happen to a human? By having read suicide notes of those who have passed on. By listening to a psychiatrist and psychologist say, yes sometimes people who see no way out of a current situation or circumstance will give in to hopelessness and kill themselves.
It was his choice to die. Well yes that’s suicide otherwise it would be murder. There have been cases where people have been convicted for their part in pushing people of various ages to kill themselves.
Yes. It’s suicide. He alone ended his life. This exact timing is meaningful though. Asia and her horror show played a part. I believe that.
Asia…and Rain Dove…are on Twitter…
GOIN’ IN ON EACH OTHER!!!!!!!!!
Lawd…have mercy!!!!
Wow. That thread is … wow.
I’m sorry I think they BOTH are lying. I think she had an inappropriate relationship with a minor and I think he is capitalizing on it just as she says.
Whether or not he capitalizes on it is negligent. He was seventeen. That’s statutory rape. Period, end of story. It doesn’t matter if he consented without coercion. It’s unethical at the very least. He’s not eighteen. He’s not considered a legal adult.
Add in the fact that she’s known him since he was a pre-pubescent child (suggesting GROOMING) and the socioeconomic power difference between them, suffice to say, I could care less what she suffers because he came out. She slept with him when he was seventeen and did so knowingly – which forces us to ask the question, just how many others could she have victimized out there?
@ Lola
How are they BOTH lying? From what i know Jimmy never denied asking her for money. So what has he lied about?
She’s the one trying to spin this story, but it’s not making sense ‘cause it’s full of contradictions.
And as others have said. She was the adult. Whether Jimmy lies or not, it doesn’t change the fact that she chose to keep inappropriate contact with a minor for years, slept with him, and then tried to cover it up.
I TOTALLY agree. He’s no innocent party in this either, he just happens to have the law on his side as a then minor.
Not advocating for her at all but in reality if this had taken place in any country in Europe, or even Canada this would not be an issue because the age of consent ranges from 13 to 16. Your country is a tale of 2 minds for sure…you do not let adults under 21 drink, 18 is the age of consent yet you let children have guns from the times they can walk and talk, let teens join the military to go off to foreign lands to murder people or get murdered themselves, pretty much use sex to sell absolutely everything. The cognitive dissonance is kind of mind boggling.
@ Caty
I don’t know about the ages of consent in Europe. But in Canada it would still be wrong. From what I remember, the ages between the participants would have to be close (less than a 5 year difference). And even if that has changed, it’s still illegal for anyone under 18 to be in a sexual relationship considered exploitative. For example, a minor involved with some with authority over them.
In this case Asia was Jimmy’s acting coach. And by law a Coach definitely falls into the exploitative category. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2532909/
can you please stop with this “age of consent in Europe”….Europe is not a monolith, first things first! Second, a great deal of European countries have very strict consent laws-a minor (around 14 or 16, depending on the country) can have a consenual se* only with up to 3 years older minor! I really don’t know of which european countries are you talking about…
and that’s it! you can’t sleep with someone under 18 if you’re over 18, practically! Legaly.
Can we please stop with this myth that has been perpetuated in the comments, now?
So help me get this straigh y’all,
1) She says she had not kept in contact with him, but turns out she’s been his acting coach for years?
2) she used to call him her “son” and says he kept sending her “unsolicited” pictures for YEARS, yet, she being the adult didn’t try to stop it? block him? has she not changed her number ever in all those years? Why would she continue being his coach knowing he was being in appropriate?
3) You need to be at least 18yrs-old to rent a hotel room in the States. If she really felt he was being inappropriate sending her all those “unsolicited” pictures for all those years, why would she rent a room and invite him there?
4) why would she then proceed to get him, a minor, drunk and continue hanging out with him alone in a hotel room when she knew “he had a crush” on her?
5) She lies and says he “jumped her” and basically forced himself on her, yet tells her bf Bourdain that it wasn’t assault? Then she tells her friend that from her pov it’s not wrong to sleep with someone his age ‘cause she had been sexually active with adults around the same age. Like right there we see she never thought sleeping with him would be considered wrong
6) so what is it? did she feel he attacked her or not? If she felt he did, why would she try to “help him” (as she told Bourdain) by giving him over 300K??? because she “felt sorry for him”??—that makes NO sense. This only tells me she really did just sleep with him willingly and when she realized the laws are different in the States she tried to cover it up. First with her bf, by telling him the kid forced himself on her, and then by paying him off to keep him quiet.
Basically what i’m trying to say is if you take out the twists she’s tried to put on this story once she found out she could be in trouble for it, you can get much closer to the truth of it…
She groomed and seduced a minor she knew had a crush on her. Invited him to her hotel room, knowing he wanted to be inappropriately sexual with her for years, got him drunk, slept with him. And now she’s trying to excuse herself of the abuse she perpetuated and blame the victim—basically the M.O. of every abuser out there.
It might be true Weinstein raped her. But at this point she has no credibility. Which is a real shame and so disappointing to his other victims i bet.
dbl.
Agreed. All of it.
I think this will deeply damage the case against Weinstein. It will call into question the credibility of many, if not all, of his victims and the defense will be ALL over it. Particularly when it comes to Rose and her story.
@OkieOpie
Yes totally. It’s so unfortunate now the defense will have actually legal precedence to call his victim’s sexual history into question. So not only will their credibility be attacked, they’ll be humiliated in court. It’s just so awful.
Well, why would she pay more hush money when the secret is out? Like this is any better.
It pains me how much TMZ is getting their f*cking lives from this story. It’s all true, but nasty ass Harvey Levin and his spin machine shouldn’t be the ones profiting off of it.
Unfortunately, there are lots of angry, anti-feminist men on some other random websites exclaiming jubilantly that we now “can’t know for sure” if Weinstein is a rapist!!! Some commenters even say, “Of course Harvey is bad, but NO WORSE than all of the women he supposedly harassed in Hollywood!” AND, “This proves that ALL the #Metoo women are LYING!” Wow, it’s just so awful, the number of threatened men who are so rabidly eager to justify and keep stifled other men’s criminal actions against women. Of course, Asia is awful, but her own crimes abate and justify no one else’s. Very sad, scary, precarious story all around.
She is a low life and totally disgusting. She should be ashamed of bringing Bourdain into this when he can no longer speak for himself. I believe she drove him to do something drastic like taking his own life with gas lighting and cheating and whatnot. Her dear friend Rose is equally awful. No wonder they were drawn to each other as so-called best friends.
just … i don’t even know with all that mess.
just… she seems like such a dick.
The woman has zero shame and zero f’s to give. Why on earth would you position yourself at the head of such an important movement when you had something like this in your past? I mean, add your name to the list of victims, work behind the scenes if you feel compelled to help, but it never occurred to her that she maybe wasn’t the best person to be at the forefront of this thing?
Probably for the same reason her victim didn’t want to report it. She figures he’s a guy, it doesn’t count. #MeToo #MenToo
In terms of the fact that Asia’s got 2 children, I hope I’m wrong that she sounds toxic as hell and like the type of person who leaves devastation in her wake. I hope the kids’ dads are wonderful men who can help buffer them from their mother’s drama.
On a purely Grade-A gossip level, I wonder what her ex-husband Michele Civetta and ex-partner Marco Castoldi (Morgan) would have to say about all of this and their years with her.
Asia Argento is certainly not a saint and maybe not the most likeable person, but what proof is there that Bennet is telling the truth? People shouldn’t be automatically condemned because they are simply not particularly “nice”. I do not agree with mediatic or morally driven sentences based that are biased.
I personally do not believe Bennet and think he is simply trying to extort money and publicity. A person who sues their own parents clearly has no boundaries and will go to any means to earn a quick dollar. Blackmail exists and in my view this is what was exercised by Bennet as he knew bad publicity would damage Asia and Boudain. It brings back to mind the cases of parents accusing Michael Jackson of sexual abuse whilst continuing to send their children to Neverland. How credible are you as a parent? In my view they werent at all victims but predators, taking advantage of the evident fragilities and vulnerability of a celebrity subject to constant mediatic exposure. Asia Argento is in a similar situation. Plus why would she need to sexually assault Bennet? I think she’s attractive enough to get a young guy without using force and I dont believe she has power or weight in the industry to leverage from as bait for controlling a young actor. There is no logic behind the whole story apart from that of a low grade, z movie actor trying to get some fame.