Rose McGowan has said her "heart is broken" after friend Asia Argento was accused of paying off an actor who claimed she sexually assaulted him. Photo / AP
WARNING: This article contains distressing content
Rose McGowan is speaking out after her close friend Asia Argento was revealed to have paid off a young actor who claimed he was sexually assaulted by the Italian star.
"I got to know Asia Argento ten months ago. Our commonality is the shared pain of being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein. My heart is broken. I will continue my work on behalf of victims everywhere," wrote McGowan on Twitter.
She then hinted that there might be more to the story, adding: "None of us know the truth of the situation and I'm sure more will be revealed. Be gentle."
I got to know Asia Argento ten months ago. Our commonality is the shared pain of being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein. My heart is broken. I will continue my work on behalf of victims everywhere.
— Rose McGowan (@rosemcgowan) August 20, 2018
McGowan's remarks came hours after The New York Times reported that Argento had paid actor Jimmy Bennett $380,000 when he filed a notice of intent to sue back in November.
In that notice, Bennett claimed that he was sexually assaulted by Argento in a California hotel room in 2013 when he was 17 and the actress 37, a decade after he first met her on the set of The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things.
Bennett was just 7 when he was cast to play the son of Argento's drug-addicted prostitute in the film, based on the popular novel by JT Leroy.
The film also starred Argento's then-boyfriend Michael Pitt, Winona Ryder, and McGowan's former fiancé Marilyn Manson.
Argento has a daughter Anna Lou Castoldi, 17, with singer Marco Castoldi and a 9-year-old son Nicola.
McGowan's remarks come just two months after the Scream star rushed to Europe to be by Argento's side after her boyfriend Anthony Bourdain hanged himself in a French hotel room.
In the wake of the celebrity chef's suicide, McGowan acted as Argento's spokesperson, and even released the actress' first statement on the passing of Bourdain.
It is not known for certain if Bourdain knew about the settlement his girlfriend paid to Bennett, but it seems likely as she used her late boyfriend's lawyer to handle the case.
The claim that McGowan "got to know" Argento for 10 months is a bit questionable however, with Argento herself posting a photo of the two on Instagram earlier this year and writing: "The day we met - March 17th, 2003."
McGowan and Argento have been at the forefront of the #MeToo for almost a year now after both women claimed to have been sexually assaulted by disgraced mogul Harvey Weinstein.
It was Argento who first went public with her story followed by McGowan, who had signed a nondisclosure agreement after receiving a reported $100,000 settlement from Weinstein following allegations that she was sexually assaulted at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival by the then-Miramax head.
Argento was allegedly assaulted the following year by Weinstein at the Cannes Film Festival.
Weinstein has denied these allegations.
Bennett's lawyer wrote in the notice that his client was sexually assaulted by Argento back in 2013 after being dropped off by a family member at a Marina del Rey hotel for a visit.
The teenager was unable to drive himself due to an eye condition which prohibits him from obtaining a license in the state of California.
The Times, citing a copy of the notice they were sent by an anonymous source, reported that Argento then sent the family member away and was alone with Bennett in her hotel room.
Argento then gave the minor "alcohol to drink and showed him a series of notes she had written to him on hotel stationery."
"Then she kissed him, pushed him back on the bed, removed his pants and performed oral sex," said the report.
"She climbed on top of him and the two had intercourse," according to the notice.
"She then asked him to take a number of photos."
Argento took a number of photos of herself and Bennett after the alleged assault, including one of the two lying naked in bed.
She also posted five photos from the pair's meet-up to her Instagram that day, starting with one of herself in which she wrote: "Waiting for my long lost son my love @jimmymbennett in trepidation #marinadelrey smoking cigarettes like there was no next week."
In her second post she shared a selfie of herself with Bennett and wrote: "Happiest day of my life reunion with @jimmymbennett xox."
In that same post, one follower wrote: "Asia cast him again!! xoxo."
Argento replied: "jimmy is going to be in my next movie and that is a fact, dig that jack."
When she was then asked if the film would shot stateside, Argento responded: "no we shoot the s*** in eye-2-ly 's @jimmymbennett's never been there - yet X."
Bennett never worked with Argento again however, and then in November filed his notice after the actress' very public condemnation of her alleged rapist, Weinstein.
"His feelings about that day were brought to the forefront recently when Ms. Argento took the spotlight as one of the many victims of Harvey Weinstein," stated Bennett's lawyer in the notice.
He then asked for $3.5 million in damages, sighting intentional infliction of emotional distress, lost wages, assault and battery.
The parties agreed to a settlement in April, and one month later Argento appeared at the closing ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival.
In a speech that garnered much praise at the time she said: "In 1997, I was raped by Harvey Weinstein here at Cannes. I was 21 years old."
Argento continued: "Even tonight, sitting among you, there are those who have still to be held accountable for their conduct against women. You know who you are. But most importantly we know who you are. And we're not going allow you to get away with it any longer."
The actress then said Weinstein was no longer welcome at the festival.
The Italian star told the New Yorker that Weinstein raped her in 1997 at a party hosted by Miramax at the Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc. She claims the mogul led her to an empty room and asked her to give him a massage.
She reluctantly agreed, and halfway through he began to perform oral sex on her after forcibly lifting up her skirt despite her repeated requests for him to stop.
Argento says that she became suspicious when the party she arrived at was just an empty hotel room, but was assured that people would soon be arriving by Weinstein.
Then, he emerged from the bathroom in a robe and holding a bottle of lotion says the actress, who was just 21 at the time.
"He asks me to give a massage. I was, like, 'Look man, I am no f***ing fool,'" said Argento.
"But, looking back, I am a f***ing fool. And I am still trying to come to grips with what happened."
The actress, who is the daughter of famed Italian director Dario Argento, said that once Weinstein began performing oral sex on her there was no way for her to stop him because he was so much bigger than her.
"It wouldn't stop. It was a nightmare," said Argento, who eventually decided to pretend she was enjoying the act in hopes that it would end.
When it was over, Argento said she said on the bed and told her attacked: "I am not a whore."
He laughed at her and said he would put that on a shirt according to Argento, who said that Weinstein contacted her for months after the attack and even began offering her expensive gifts.
Argento eventually relented and over time became close to her attacker, and even engaged in consensual relations with him she admits.
She explained the sudden shift by saying that it was a few months before the release of her 1999 film B. Monkey and she was afraid that if she did not agree to Weinstein's advances he might destroy her career.
The following year, Argento released her film Scarlet Diva, which had a scene similar to the one she experienced three years earlier in France.
In that film, a young actress is cornered by a big producer in a room with one crucial difference.
"In the movie I wrote, I ran away," said Argento.
When she told Weinstein that the character was based on him he simply laughed said Argento.
The Kiwi actor has been part of the Star Wars universe for more than 20 years.