Asia Argento, the Italian actress and director, was among the first women to publicly accuse the Hollywood film mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. She became a leading personality in the #MeToo movement. But in the recent months, the 42-year-old actress appeared in the headlines after Jimmy Bennett, a young actor and rock musician accused her of sexually assaulting him in a California hotel room in 2013, when he was 17, and the actress then was 37. Argento in a later report denied any sexual assault of the young actor. However, a leaked topless image of Argento in bed with the then 17-year-old Bennett and few texts, tell a completely different story. #Metoo Activist Asia Argento Settles Her Own Sexual Assault Case By Paying the Victim USD 380K. 

The New York Times even highlighted that the #MeToo activist quietly arranged to pay 380,000 dollars (over Rs. 2 crores) to her accuser, Bennett, who according to reports, once played her son in a movie. Argento said that she never had sex with Bennett. “I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false,” she said in a statement which circulated on social media. “I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett,” she added. Bennett once played a role as her son in a 2004 film; The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things.

Asia Argento in Bed With Jimmy Bennett!

The photo and various text messages between Argento and a friend tell an entirely different story. As revealed by TMZ, the 42-year-old accepted that she had sex with the young actor Bennett. This photo is one of the four photos which the 22-year-old had taken in Marina Rey hotel room back in 2013. Both of them can be seen lying on a bed shirtless, their heads resting on a pillow with their arms entangled.

Argento’s messages are in grey, and her friend’s in blue.

Texts between Argento and a friend (Photo Credits: TMZ)

Meanwhile, the texts shared between Argento, and a friend clarifies that they were engaged in sexual intercourse at the time. One of the messages reads, “It wasn't raped but I was frozen. He was on top of me. After, he told me I had been his sexual fantasy since was 12.” “The public knows nothing, only what NYT wrote. Which is one-sided. The shakedown letter. The horny kid jumped me,” reads another. When asked how she did not know his age as she had previously worked with him, the actress allegedly wrote that the age of consent in 15 in France, 14 in her native Italy, as opposed to 18 in California.

On August 19, the New York Times published that the Italian actress had agreed to pay her co-star Bennett. The #MeToo activist suggested that the young man extorted her and late boyfriend Anthony Bourdain, who paid out the settlement. Argento had accused Harvey Weinstein of rape. Weinstein’s lawyer, Ben Brafman lashed out on her calling ‘a stunning level of hypocrisy’.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2018 10:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).