#MeToo Leader Paid Off Her Own Sexual Assault Accuser

Actress Asia Argento was one of the first to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault but according to a New York Times report, Argento paid off a former young child star who accused her of sexual misconduct in the months after her own accusations against the disgraced Weinstein. 

Argento reportedly paid former child actor Jimmy Bennett $380,000. Bennett claims that in 2013, a then 37-year-old Argento assaulted him in a California hotel only two months past his 17th birthday. The age of consent in California is 18. 

Argento and Bennett worked together on the 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things when Bennett was just 7-years-old. They kept in touch and remained close in the years after the filming. 

Bennett claims that he arrived at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey to meet Argento in her hotel room on May 10, 2013 where Argento gave him alcohol, showed him notes she had made on hotel stationery and performed oral sex on him before having intercourse with him. 

Argento's involvement with the #MeToo movement allegedly triggered Bennett's memories of his own sexual assault. 

Bennett's lawyers sent a notice of intent to sue Argento in November, claiming that the sexual assault was so traumatic it affected his mental health and hindered his acting career. 

Asia Argento Accused of Paying Off Actor Who Says She Assaulted Him - Thumbnail Image

Asia Argento Accused of Paying Off Actor Who Says She Assaulted Him

Photo: Getty Images


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