Asia Argento is not mincing words in an escalating Twitter war with Rose McGowan over accusations the Italian actress sexually assaulted minor Jimmy Bennett in 2013.
On Monday, Argento threatened to sue McGowan over her August 27 statement urging the actress and filmmaker to “be the person you wish Harvey could have been.” McGowan alleges her partner, Rain Dove, told her that Argento admitted via text messages to having sex with Bennett when he was 17 years old.
“If you fail to address this libel I will have no option other than to take immediate legal action,” Argento warned.
She then posted on Tuesday:
Last month, McGowan publically urged Dove to go to police with the text messages and called her former friend out for putting the positive work of the #MeToo movement in jeopardy.
“What was hard was the shell shock of the realization that everything the MeToo movement stood for was about to be in jeopardy,” she wrote. “Asia, you were my friend. I loved you. You’ve spent and risked a lot to stand with the MeToo movement. I really hope you find your way through this process to rehabilitation and betterment. Anyone can be better — I hope you can be, too.”
Since then, Dove has reportedly turned over the texts to police and, according to TMZ, Bennett is preparing to file a police report.
The New York Times previously reported Argento had paid Bennett $300,000 to keep him from speaking out. The actress denied sexually assaulting the teen and claimed her late partner, Anthony Bourdain, was the one who organized the payoff, fearing negative press for Argento after she spoke out against Harvey Weinstein.
