Asia Argento admitted paying actor
Jimmy Bennett $380,000 to settle an abuse lawsuit but said she
had done it to avert blackmail, saying she had never had sex
with the former child actor.
Saying she was "shocked and wounded" by what she called "fake
news", the Italian actress and #MeToo figurehead said her
partner, late chef Anthony Bourdain, had advised her to make the
payout to stop Bennett keeping asking her for money.
A lawyer for Bennett said Argento's denial that the two had
allegedly non-consensual sex five years ago was false.
The 22-year-old's lawyer, Gordon K. Sattro, said he was
working with his client on a statement, the New York Times
reported.
The TMZ website published a selfie of the pair lying in bed
and said it was one of four snaps taken in a Marina del Rey
hotel in 2013.
TMZ also published a text message allegedly from Argento to a
friend saying "I had sex with him, I didn't know he was under
age until the blackmail letter arrived".
She also allegedly said "that horny kid jumped on me".
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