Asia Argento accuser Jimmy Bennett says he stayed silent because he was 'ashamed and afraid'

Jimmy Bennett.
(Image credit: Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP)

Actor Jimmy Bennett has accused actress Asia Argento of sexually assaulting him in 2013 when he was 17 and she was 37, and in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter on Wednesday, said he was too "ashamed and afraid" to speak out sooner.

The New York Times reported on Monday that after Bennett accused Argento of sexual assault, she agreed to pay him $380,000 over two years. Bennett told The Hollywood Reporter he "chose to handle it in private with the person who wronged me. My trauma resurfaced as she came out as a victim herself." In October 2017, Argento said she had been raped by disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein, and she became a vocal leader in the #MeToo movement.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.