A new statement from actress Rose McGowan cites a claim made by McGowan’s partner alleging that Asia Argento had received nude photos of actor Jimmy Bennett “since he had been 12.”
McGowan wrote an open letter to Asia Argento, who was accused last week of having a sexual relationship with actor Jimmy Bennett when he was underage. Argento strongly denied the claims, but leaked text messages from TMZ seemingly contradicted key parts of her denial.
McGowan, who was also a key figure in last year’s #MeToo movement along with Argento, has now released a statement on Argento, urging her to be honest about her relationship with Bennett.
“I really hope you find your way through this process to rehabilitation and betterment. Anyone can be be better- I hope you can be, too. Do the right thing. Be honest. Be fair. Let justice stay its course. Be the person you wish Harvey could have been,” McGowan told Argento in the open letter.
However, the most explosive part of the letter states that McGowan’s partner, “Rain Dove,” told McGowan that Argento had not only had a sexual encounter with Bennett, but that Argento had been receiving naked photos of Bennett since he was 12-years-old — and never told him to stop or told his parents about the purported photos.
“I received a phone call and series of messages from the being I’ve been dating- Rain Dove,” McGowan wrote. “They said that they had been texting with Asia and that Asia had revealed that she had indeed slept with Jimmy Bennet. Rain also shared that Asia had stated that she’d been receiving unsolicited nudes of Jimmy since he had been 12.”
“Asia mentioned in these texts that she didn’t take any action on those images. No reporting to authorities, to the parents, or blocking of Jimmy’s social media. Not even a simple message ‘Don’t send me these images. They are inappropriate.’ There were a few other details revealed as well that I am not at liberty to mention in this statement as investigators do their job,” McGowan’s letter concluded.
Argento reportedly facilitated the payment of a $380,000 settlement to keep Bennett quiet about the sexual assault allegations in 2017.
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