Weinstein accuser Argento paid teen hush money: Report
Report says actress Asia Argento allegedly paid $520,000 to silence man who claims she sexually assaulted him when he was 17
WASHINGTON: Italian actress Asia Argento, who became a leading figure in the #MeToo movement after accusing powerhouse producer Harvey Weinstein of rape, paid hush money to a man who claimed she sexually assaulted him when he was 17, The New York Times reported on Sunday.
The US$380,000 (S$520,000) payment was made to Mr Jimmy Bennett, an actor and rock musician, who claimed Argento assaulted him in a California hotel room in 2013, according to the Times, which cited documents sent to the paper by an unknown party.
Mr Bennett was two months past his 17th birthday at the time of the alleged encounter, while Ms Argento was 37.
The legal age of consent in California is 18. The pair are now 22 and 42 respectively.
The newspaper said it had tried repeatedly without success to get a comment on the matter from Ms Argento and her representatives.
The terms of the deal including a payment schedule were finalised in April this year, according to the documents seen by the Times.
Among the documents it received was a selfie of the pair lying in bed dated May 9, 2013, that Mr Bennett was supposed to hand over to Ms Argento along with its copyright under the agreement.
The Times cited three people familiar with the case as saying the documents were authentic.
The pair acted together in the 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, in which Ms Argento plays Mr Bennett's troubled mother.
Ms Argento's lawyer Carrie Goldberg described the money as "helping Mr Bennett".
Mr Bennett's lawyers had characterised the hotel encounter as a "sexual battery" that traumatised the former child actor, threatening his mental health and income.
His notice of intent to sue sought US$3.5 million in damages for "intentional infliction of emotional distress, lost wages, assault and battery", the paper said.
Ms Argento, whose boyfriend was Anthony Bourdain, the popular TV host who committed suicide in June, became a powerful voice for the #MeToo movement after accusing Weinstein of raping her when she was 21 in his hotel room in 1997 during the Cannes film festival.
Mr Bennett's legal action was launched a month after Ms Argento's accusations against Weinstein were made public, the Times said, adding that his lawyer claimed his client recalled the hotel encounter after seeing Ms Argento present herself as a victim of sexual assault. - AFP
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