Actress and director Asia Argento, who is currently facing allegations of sexual assault against a minor, tweeted that she will take action against Rose McGowan unless her former friend withdraws and apologizes for a statement she made about the accusations.
Dear @RoseMcGowan. It is with genuine regret that I am giving you 24 hours to retract and apologise for the horrendous lies made against me in your statement of August 27th. If you fail to address this libel I will have no option other than to take immediate legal action.
— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) September 17, 2018
In August, The New York Times reported that Argento had settled a lawsuit in 2017 with actor Jimmy Bennett, who alleges that Argento sexually assaulted him in a California hotel room in 2013, when he was 17 and she was 37. Argento maintains that Bennett blackmailed her and her late partner, Anthony Bourdain, who helped pay a $380,000 legal settlement.
I just received this statement from @AsiaArgento in response to the NYT story published late Sunday evening. pic.twitter.com/jAOo7TAULX
— Yashar Ali ? (@yashar) August 21, 2018
Argento and McGowan had been leading figures in the #MeToo movement, after both speaking out against Harvey Weinstein. The two had appeared to bond over their shared roles as advocates.
McGowan released the statement in question on August 27, reports Buzzfeed News, in which she appears to break off her friendship with Argento, and alleges that Argento did indeed sleep with Bennett and receive unsolicited nude photographs from him.
It is a shame that @rosemcgowan is not prepared to accept when she is wrong. @raindovemodel accepted she was wrong, but her tweet has been deleted. Rose’s statement continues to make false claims. pic.twitter.com/OcHyJp6Rum
— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) September 7, 2018
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