Argento was one of the first and most vocal accusers of disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Asia Argento, the Italian actress who was one of the first to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, secretly paid off a young male actor accusing her of sexual misconduct in the months after her revelations about the disgraced movie mogul.

According to a report in The New York Times, Argento paid former child actor Jimmy Bennett $380,000. Bennett claims that in 2013, a then 37-year-old Argento assaulted him in a California hotel only two months past his 17th birthday. The age of consent in California is 18.

The Times reports that it has seen the legal documents that lay out Bennett's assault claims and the payments arranged between his lawyers and Argento's.

Bennett's lawyers sent a notice of intent to sue Argento in November, claiming that the sexual assault was so traumatic that it affected his mental health and stymied his acting career. The notice was sent to Richard Hofstetter, the late Anthony Bourdain's longtime lawyer, who was representing Argento at the time.

The legal documents outlining the accusations against Argento were sent not long after she went public with her own sexual assault allegations against Weinstein. Argento accused Weinstein of raping her when she was 21 in an incident that took place in 1997 in a bombshell New Yorker report published on Oct. 10.

The avalanche of sexual assault allegations against Weinstein by dozens of women sparked the global #MeToo and Time's Up movement that exposed sexual harassment by men in the entertainment industry and wider society. Since the Weinstein allegations became public, Argento, with the support of Bourdain who was her boyfriend until his suicide in June, has spoken out about sexual harassment both in Hollywood and her home country of Italy and also gave high profile talks on the subject at Harvard University and at the Cannes Film Festival.

Shortly after the report was made public on Monday, Argento's ally Rose McGowan publicly distanced herself, tweeting, "I got to know Asia Argento ten months ago. Our commonality is the shared pain of being assaulted by Harvey Weinstein. My heart is broken. I will continue my work on behalf of victims everywhere." She later asked followers to be "gentle," tweeting, "None of us know the truth of the situation and I’m sure more will be revealed."

Weinstein, through his lawyer Ben Brafman, later weighed in on what he called a "stunning level of hypocrisy" in a statement. "What is perhaps most egregious, is the timing, which suggests that at the very same time Argento was working on her own secret settlement for the alleged sexual abuse of a minor, she was positioning herself at the forefront of those condemning Mr. Weinstein, despite the fact that her sexual relationship with Mr. Weinstein was between two consenting adults which lasted for more than four years," read the statement, in part.

The Times reports Bennett's account of the incident, as laid out in the documents. He claims that he arrived at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey to meet Argento in her hotel room on May 10, 2013, with a family member. Argento asked to be alone with Bennett and the family member left. Bennett claims Argento gave him alcohol and also showed him notes she had made on hotel stationery. She then proceeded to kiss him and perform oral sex before having intercourse with him.

The documents say that Argento then asked to take a number of photos with him. Photos of Argento and Bennett semi-clothed in bed, as well as an Instagram post of their faces taken on that day, were included in the notice of intent to sue.

Bennett's lawyers claim that Argento presenting herself as a victim of sexual assault as well as taking a prominent role in the #MeToo movement triggered memories of his own assault, according to the legal documents.

Argento and Bennett worked together on the 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, which Argento also wrote and directed. Bennett, a 7-year-old at the time, played Argento's son, who is neglected and sexually assaulted by a boyfriend of Argento's character.

The two seemingly kept in touch on Twitter up until August 2012 (see tweets below) and Instagram until May 2013, though Bennett's Twitter account is no longer active. Argento and Bennett referred to each other on social media as mother and son, a reference to their The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things characters, and he claims she was a mentor in the legal documents.

Now 22, Bennett was a prolific child actor and notably starred as a young James T. Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek reboot. He also had roles in Poseidon, Evan Almighty and Firewall. His lawyers claim that the assault affected him emotionally and was detrimental to his career. Since the incident, Bennett only has a few film and TV credits to his name.

Bennett’s attorney, Gordon K. Sattro, issued a statement on Monday, saying, "Jimmy is going to take the next 24 hours, or longer, to prepare his response. We ask that you respect our client’s privacy during this time.”

Argento responded to the report on Tuesday. In a statement, she denied the assault allegation. Argento said Bennett tried to extort her and that her then-boyfriend, the late Anthony Bourdain, offered the payoff to make the situation disappear. "I am deeply shocked and hurt having read the news that is absolutely false," she said, in part. "I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett." Read her full response here.

Aug. 20, 1 p.m. Updated with Weinstein lawyer statement.

Aug. 21, 9 a.m. Updated that Argento released a statement.</s>Italian actress and sexual abuse campaigner Asia Argento denied Tuesday having had a sexual relationship five years ago with an underage teen, calling the allegations part of "a long-standing persecution".

The New York Times reported on Sunday that Argento, a Harvey Weinstein accuser and leading figure in the #MeToo movement, had paid Jimmy Bennett $380,000 over the alleged 2013 incident at a Los Angeles hotel.

"I strongly deny and oppose the contents of the New York Times article... as circulated also in national and international news," a statement issued by her agent said.

"I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false. I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett," it goes on.

Argento says that she was linked to Bennett "during several years by friendship only".

She said the friendship "ended when, subsequent to my exposure in the Weinstein case, Bennett... unexpectedly made an exorbitant request of money from me".

Argento became a powerful voice for the #MeToo movement after accusing Hollywood producer Weinstein of raping her when she was 21 in his hotel room in 1997 during the Cannes film festival.

Argento goes on to say that her boyfriend, the late chef Anthony Bourdain, "was afraid of the possible negative publicity that such person, whom he considered dangerous, could have brought upon us".

"We decided to deal compassionately with Bennett's demand for help and give it to him. Anthony personally undertook to help Bennett economically, upon the condition that we would no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life," the statement goes on.</s>STUDIO CITY (CBSLA) — Asia Argento, one of the leading figures in the #MeToo movement, agreed to pay her own accuser $380,000 to keep him quiet about an alleged sexual assault that took place when the man was still a minor, the New York Times reported Sunday.

According to the paper, Argento paid the money to Jimmy Bennett, a young actor who accused the Italian actor of having sex with him in a California hotel room just two months after he turned 17, to settle a lawsuit. The legal age of consent in California is 18.

Argento, 42, was one of the first women to publicly accuse Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and rape last year. The settlement is reported to have happened just months after the Weinstein accusations were made public.

The Times reported it was sent encrypted information about the dealings between lawyers for Argento and Bennett, including a selfie of the two lying in bed from 2013. As part of the deal, Bennett, now 22, agreed to give Argento the photograph and its copyright, the paper reported.

In the documents, Bennett claims that on May 9, 2013, Argento served him an alcoholic drink at a room in the Marina Del Rey Ritz-Carlton and subsequently performed oral sex on him. The two then had intercourse before she asked him to take photos of them. According to the Times, the meeting was a reunion for the actors who were in the 2004 film “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things,” in which Argento played Bennett’s mother. Argento also referred to Bennett as her son in social media posts.

While the Times has not received a response from Argento and Bennett declined to comment on the matter, the paper said three people familiar with the case corroborated the documents’ authenticity.

According to the documents, Bennett’s initial notice of intent to sue asked for $3.5 million. He claimed he had become broke, earning far less in subsequent years because of the trauma he endured.

Leading #MeToo figure Rose McGowan reacted to the report early Monday on Twitter:</s>ROME (Reuters) - Italian actress Asia Argento, an outspoken advocate in the movement against sexual harassment, denied on Tuesday ever having had sexual relations with Jimmy Bennett, an actor who the New York Times reported had accused her of sexual assault.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that Bennett had accused Argento of sexually assaulting him in 2013 when he was 17 and she was 37. Argento agreed to pay him $380,000 after he asked for $3.5 million, the paper said.

“I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false. I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett,” Argento said in an emailed statement distributed by her Italian lawyer.

In her first public comments since the article, Argento said she had been linked to Bennett over several years “by friendship only”.

Representatives for Bennett did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the matter.

A spokesperson for The New York Times told Reuters: “We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting, which was based on verified documents and multiple sources.”

Argento said in her statement that Bennett had “unexpectedly made an exorbitant request of money” to her following her media exposure in the accusations of sexual misconduct against movie producer Harvey Weinstein.

Argento was one of the first women to publicly accuse Weinstein. She told The New Yorker magazine last October that he had raped her during the Cannes festival in 1997 when she was 21. Since that interview, she has become an outspoken advocate in the #MeToo social media movement against sexual harassment.

She said in her statement that she and her then-boyfriend, the culinary television star Anthony Bourdain, had “decided to deal compassionately with Bennett’s demand for help and give it to him”.

“Anthony personally undertook to help Bennett economically, upon the condition that we would no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life,” she added.

Argento said she would oppose the “false allegations” against her and would assume “all necessary initiatives for my protection before all competent venues”.</s>Pink-haired and puffing on a cigarette, this is the young man who has accused actress Asia Argento of sexually assaulting him when she was 37 and he just 17 – under the age of consent.

Seen in photos obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com, 22-year-old Jimmy Bennett appeared tired and strained as he got a nicotine fix and spoke on the phone on the balcony of the Los Angeles apartment he shares with his Canadian girlfriend Allie Jadeski.

Bennett, who played 42-year-old Argento's son in 2003 movie The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, claims the actress assaulted him at a hotel in Marina Del Rey, California, in 2013.

On Tuesday, the LA County Sheriff's Office announced it would be opening an investigation into the sexual assault claims, having initially said it would not.

Statutory rape, depending on the seriousness of the incident, can be prosecuted as a felony under California law – with a maximum penalty of three years in jail and a $10,000 fine.

Argento released a statement this morning responding to the allegations and denied ever having a sexual relationship with the young actor.

'I strongly deny and oppose the contents of the New York Times article,' states Argento.

'I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false. I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett.'

She goes on to state that Bennett went after her because of her relationship with Anthony Bourdain, a 'man of great perceived wealth' who 'had his own reputation as a beloved public figure to protect.'

Argento also claims that it was Bourdain, who took his own life back in June, who urged her to settle in exchange for Bennett's silence.

'Anthony personally undertook to help Bennett economically, upon the condition that we would no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life.

'This is, therefore, the umpteenth development of a sequence of events that brings me great sadness and that constitutes a long-standing persecution,' claims Argento .

'I have therefore no other choice but to oppose such false allegations and will assume in the short term all necessary initiatives for my protection before all competent venues.'

Bennett, who is now pursuing a musical career and has been signed to Bella Thorne's record label Filthy Fangs, initially asked the actress for $3.5m in damages – citing emotional distress, lost wages, assault and battery.

She later agreed to pay him $380,000 to settle copyright over three images he had from the day – including one showing both naked – to be paid in two installments.

He received the first batch – a $200,000 payment – in April.

Bennett's assault claims came to light after a notice to sue sent to Argento's attorneys in November 2017 and a subsequent tie-up deal including a payment schedule was passed to the New York Times last week.

In them, he claimed he had been plied with alcohol in Argento's room at the $429-a-night Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina Del Rey before she pushed him onto the bed, pulled down his pants and performed oral sex on him.

The legal notice continued: 'She climbed on top of him and the two had intercourse,' according to the notice. She then asked him to take a number of photos.'

Some of the photos, including a picture of herself and Bennett laying naked in bed, she later posted to Instagram, along with a number of notes.

The first read: 'Waiting for my long lost son my love @jimmymbennett in trepidation #marinadelrey smoking cigarettes like there was no next week.'

In her second post, she shared a selfie of herself with Bennett and wrote: 'Happiest day of my life reunion with @jimmymbennett xox.'

According to Bennett's lawyer, Gordon K. Sattro, his client decided to sue after seeing Argento make her own sexual assault claims about Harvey Weinstein.

The actress has publicly claimed that the disgraced movie mogul sexually assaulted her at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997, although he is not facing charges pertaining to any of her claims.

In the notice, Sattro said: 'His feelings about that day were brought to the forefront recently when Ms. Argento took the spotlight as one of the many victims of Harvey Weinstein.'

Since working with Argento in The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, the jobbing actor has gone on to rack up more than 50 credits – most recently as Dustin in 2017 low-budget romantic thriller Heartthrob.

But according to Sattro, the 22-year-old is now focusing on his musical career – some of which, including a recording session with LA-based producer David Davis, is documented on his now-scrubbed Instagram account.

He has also struck up a close friendship with Thorne, 20, who has also claimed to have been sexually assaulted – alleging via social media that a 'close family member' attacked her as a child in January.

Videos posted to his Instagram show Bennett partying with the former Disney star and her 31-year-old rapper boyfriend Mod Sun.

Thorne has returned the compliment, posting a photo of Bennett smoking a cigarette and wearing a black sweatshirt from her Filthy Fangs label on June 20.

The accompanying caption reads: 'When your artist looks dope af wearing the sweatshirt you made by hand yeee [sic]'.

Bennett has also found love with pretty Canadian Jadeski, with whom he lives in a balconied apartment complex in Los Angeles.

Jadeski, a vegan who has since made her account private, regularly posts pictures of Bennett at home in their loft and documents their life together, including his passion for ramen noodles.

Bennett also appears to have a good relationship with his mother Martha, 41, whose Facebook page is dotted with pictures of her son and daughter and their younger brother Ozzy.

The family currently live in a modest gray-painted trailer home in Huntington Beach, directly across from the city's famous golden sandy beach.

According to Jadeski's Instagram page, she and Bennett recently visited – making the 30-mile drive south to spend time with his family.

But Bennett hasn't always been so close to his mother and step-father Frank Cono Pestarino, 46.

In 2014, he sued them over money he claimed to have earned during his time as a child star – accusing them of cheating him out of $1.5m.

Bennett also claimed that the former family home, sold earlier this year, had been paid with his money and said in his complaint that his mother had kicked him out.

The lawsuit was dropped a few months later but the terms of the deal were not disclosed in documents lodged with Orange County Superior Court.

Bennett has so far refused to comment on the allegations against Argento, who lives in Rome, but in a statement passed to DailyMail.com, lawyer Sattro said he was composing a response – expected within 24 hours.

He said: 'At this time, our client, Jimmy Bennett, does not wish to comment on the documents or the events discussed in the New York Times article yesterday evening.

'While we realize that the news cycle demands an immediate response, many times, people need more than a few minutes or hours to respond.

'We are asking that you give our client some time and space. Jimmy is going to take the next 24 hours, or longer, to prepare his response.

'We ask that you respect our client's privacy during this time.'</s>NEW YORK (AP) — The Italian actress and filmmaker Asia Argento says she never had a sexual relationship with the young actor whom she paid $380,000 after he accused her of sexual assault.

In a statement Tuesday, Argento said reports were "absolutely false" and that she was linked "in friendship only" to Jimmy Bennett, a now 22-year-old Los Angeles actor who filed a legal notice of intent to sue Argento. As detailed in a New York Times story published Sunday, Bennett claimed Argento sexually assaulted him when he was 17.

Argento said the $380,000 payment was made by her late boyfriend Anthony Bourdain, the television star chef. Argento said Bourdain "personally undertook to help Bennett economically" under the condition that he not contact Argento again.

A lawyer for Bennett did not immediately comment Tuesday.</s>The New York Times reported on Sunday that actress and director Asia Argento, one of the most powerful voices in the takedown of Harvey Weinstein and in the #MeToo movement more broadly, recently paid $380,000 to settle her own case of sexual assault. Jimmy Bennett, an actor and musician, accused Argento of assaulting him in a hotel room in 2013, when he was 17 and she was 37. As the #MeToo movement approaches its anniversary, this feels like one of the queasiest revelations it has produced.

In October, Argento spoke on the record with Ronan Farrow in his first blockbuster New Yorker story about Weinstein. Argento met Weinstein in the late 1990s, when she was the 21-year-old star of a crime drama distributed by Weinstein’s Miramax. Their first encounter took place at a hotel room on the French Riviera where she had been told Miramax was throwing a party. Instead, a producer led her into an empty hotel room where Weinstein was waiting for her. He performed oral sex on her against her will and later laughed at her when she told him she wasn’t a whore.

The power of Argento’s story was amplified by how forthcoming she was about the complicated nature of her relationship with Weinstein. After that first assault, she continued to see Weinstein socially and had multiple consensual encounters with him over the next four years. She said she worried he would ruin her career if she didn’t submit, and she felt indebted to him in other ways over the years; later, for example, Weinstein offered to pay for her child’s nanny. Farrow wrote that Argento “insisted that she wanted to tell her story in all its complexity.” The fact that she was so honest about not being a “perfect victim”—that hers wasn’t the kind of neat narrative that the culture at large has historically demanded before taking such accusations seriously—shed light on the complex power dynamics often involved in sexual misconduct. But now, it seems, she was withholding some important and knotty information.

As the #MeToo movement approaches its anniversary, this feels like one of the queasiest revelations it has produced.

Bennett, now 22, appeared as a child actor in Argento’s 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things. He was 7 when he was cast in the story of a troubled prostitute and her son. In the movie, Argento’s character dresses Bennett’s character as a girl, and he is eventually raped. (The movie was based on a supposedly quasi-autobiographical novel by J.T. Leroy, later revealed to be a persona created by a writer named Laura Albert.) For years after filming, the actors referred to each other fondly on social media as mother and son. On May 9, 2013, they reunited at a hotel in California, where the age of consent is 18. “Waiting for my long lost son my love @jimmymbennett,” she posted on Instagram. The Times’ reporting is based on documents exchanged by lawyers for Bennett and Argento, leaked to the paper by an “unidentified third party.” (The NYT report is penned by food correspondent Kim Severson, who has reported on sexual harassment within the restaurant world.)

That mother-son dynamic is one of several revelations that make this story so sickening and confusing. It is not news that abusers have often been abused themselves and that victimhood does not signify sainthood. But rarely has the evidence been so public and so stark.

The parallel nature of the alleged predations is shocking in its precision. Both Argento and Bennett started their careers as child actors. Argento said the first encounter with Weinstein took place in a hotel room in which she had been strategically isolated; the Bennett documents say he arrived at the hotel room with a family member whom Argento asked to leave. Argento told Farrow that Weinstein forced her into receiving oral sex, and Bennett’s account said Argento did the same. (Argento told Farrow that oral sex had been ruined for her.) In both cases, most importantly, the alleged victim felt professionally subordinate to a more powerful abuser—and felt that potential work was being dangled as a reward for sexual cooperation. Later on the same day that Argento assaulted Bennett, she posted a picture of them together on Instagram, with the caption “jimmy is going to be in my next movie and that is a fact, dig that jack.”

That theme of professional indebtedness may have played into the fact that both victims stayed in touch with their abusers in ways that could undermine their own public narratives. A month after his alleged assault, Bennett tweeted “Miss you momma!!!!” at Argento, with a picture of a bracelet she had given him. The documents suggest that the alleged assault precipitated “a spiral of emotional problems” for Bennett, as the Times put it. His income dropped from $2.7 million in the five years before the assault to $60,000 a year afterward, although that was the same time period in which he was navigating the shift from child actor to adulthood—a rocky career transition even under normal circumstances.

It’s likely, of course, that there are elements in both stories that the public doesn’t know about. Argento did not respond to the Times’ requests for comment, although three people familiar with the case confirmed that the documents were authentic. Bennett, who now lives in Los Angeles, declined an interview with the paper. It’s still unclear who exactly opted to go public with Bennett’s story and what motivated them to do so now. But Bennett is said to have asked Argento for $3.5 million in damages in November, apparently bristling as Argento presented herself as spokeswoman against sexual assault. Eventually they agreed that she would pay him $380,000 over the course of a year and a half, starting in April 2018.

Will these new revelations “undermine #MeToo,” as some have fretted? Probably only in corners that were eager to see the movement undermined anyway. Argento’s claims about Weinstein remain highly credible, in part because his list of accusers eventually ballooned to more than 80 women. This story may—and arguably should—affect Argento’s speaking engagements. But it doesn’t affect the truth of her own story, just as her prominence in #MeToo doesn’t affect the truth of Bennett’s. The only thing to do is learn to hold both accounts in our minds at the same time, with all the discomfort that entails. This storyline might be too messy for the movies, but it’s all too believable in the real world.</s>Jimmy Bennett, an actor and musician, claims that Asia Argento sexually assaulted him in a California hotel room months before his 17th birthday. According to the New York Times, Bennett, now 22, struck a deal with Argento where she agreed to pay him $380K over the course of a year and a half, starting with an initial payment of $200,000 that was made this past April.

According to a notice sent to lawyer Richard Hofstetter, the fallout from the “sexual battery” was so traumatic for Bennett that it has reportedly hindered his career and threatened his mental health.

Here’s what you need to know about Jimmy Bennett:

1. He Played Argento’s Son In the Film ‘The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things’

Bennett was 7 when he was cast in the 2004 drama The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things. The film, which Argento both directed and starred in, depicts the grim relationship between a drug-addled prostitute and her young son. Argento’s character dresses her son as a girl to lure men, and the boy is ultimately raped in the film’s final act.

According to the New York Times, Argento developed a close relationship with Bennett on the set, serving as both a mentor and a mother figure. Gordon K. Sattro, Bennett’s lawyer, wrote that “Jimmy’s impression of this situation was that a mother-son relationship had blossomed from their experience on set together.”

In addition to The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, Bennett has appeared in the comedy Daddy Day Care opposite Eddie Murphy, the thriller Hostage opposite Bruce Willis, and the 2009 reboot of Star Trek, where he played a young version of James T. Kirk.

2. The Alleged Assault Took Place at a Ritz-Carlton Hotel In 2013

According to the court documents, Bennett made plans to meet up with Argento at a Ritz-Carlton in Marina Del Rey on May 9, 2013. The young actor has an eye condition that prevents him from driving, so he was driven to the hotel with a family member.

Bennett’s account says that Argento asked the family member to leave so she could be alone with him. She gave him alcohol to drink and showed him a series of notes she had written to him on the hotel stationery. Argento then kissed Bennett, pushed him back on to the bed and removed his pants before performing oral sex. Bennett then states that she climbed on top of him and the two of them had intercourse. Afterwards, Argento reportedly asked him to take photos of her.

The two then had lunch and Bennett headed back home to his parents in Orange County. The actor said that he began to feel “extremely confused, mortified, and disgusted” on the drive home. Later that day, Argento posted a photo of them on Instagram with the caption, “Happiest day of my life reunion with @jimmymbennett xox.” She added that “jimmy is going to be in my next movie and that is a fact, dig that jack.”

3. He & Argento Were Friendly With One Another on Twitter

Leading up to the alleged assault, Bennett and Argento were friendly with one another on social media. Argento often tweeted at Bennett with compliments, referring to the actor as her “son,” and talking about how excited she is to see him again. This was most notable during the month of August 2012. “@JimmyBennett not sure when I’ll be back but hopefully next time I’ll get to see you,” she tweeted on the 11th. “Even though I might just start crying with happiness.”

Argento tweeted at Bennett again on August 15 with the message: “@JimmyBennett I was just so proud of you and after THIDAAT I didn’t want to let you go on another set without me!” She added a second tweet that read: “Sucks I left LA! I would have followed you everywhere. I wish I hadn’t missed any of your birthdays all these years.”

Argento also posted a message to him on Instagram the day of the alleged assault. “Waiting for my long lost son my love @jimmymbennett in trepidation,” she wrote. “#marinadelrey smoking cigarettes like there was no next week.”

Bennett responded to the post by writing: “I’m almost there! :)”

4. He Attributes His Career Decline to His Relationship With Argento

The New York Times reports that Bennett had made more than $2.7 million in the five years before his 2013 meeting with Argento, but that his income has gone down drastically in the five years since. He now makes an estimated $60K a year. Bennett attributes his career decline to the emotional trauma that was inflicted upon him by Argento.

Bennett initially asked Argento for $3.5 million in damages, but they ultimately agreed upon $380K. A letter from Argento’s lawyer Carrie Goldberg to Argento said that the money was to help Bennett with his career. “We hope nothing like this ever happens to you again,” Goldberg wrote. “You are a powerful and inspiring creator and it is a miserable condition of life that you live among sh**ty individuals who’ve preyed on both your strengths and your weaknesses.”

In addition to these claims, Bennett’s parents have reportedly cheated him out of at least $1.5 million. The actor says that his mother and father started a trust that they would periodically deposit his earnings into, and that they eventually barred him from their house, cutting him off from his personal belongings. He filed a lawsuit against his parents in Orange County Superior Court in October 2014. The case was settled by late December, but the terms were not disclosed.

According to Article Bio, Bennett currently has an estimated net worth of $2 million.

Bennett has also pursued a career as a musician. He released his debut single “Over Again” in 2011, and has since collaborated with artists like Sean Chambers (“Handyman”), John Ginty (“Old Shoes”), and the Bruce Katz Band (“Wild About You Baby”). The only two posts on his Instagram account are clips of him performing on his acoustic guitar. Watch them here.

5. He Came Forward Because He Felt That Argento’s Support of the #MeToo Movement Was Hypocritical

Bennett’s lawyer stated that the reason he chose to come forward with his experience is because “seeing Ms. Argento present herself as a victim of sexual assault was too much to bear.” Sattro wrote that: “His feelings about that day were brought to the forefront recently when Ms. Argento took the spotlight as one of the many victims of Harvey Weinstein.”

While its unclear what the current relationship is between Bennett and Argento, the two have indirectly corresponded via social media. On June 8, 2013, Bennett sent Argento a Twitter message that read: “Miss you momma!!!!” with a photograph of an engraved bracelet she had given as a gift. His Twitter account has since been shut down. On July 17, 2018, Argento liked a photo that Bennett had posted of himself on Instagram (the account has since removed much of its content).

Carrie Goldberg, Argento’s lawyer, has not made an official comment. Bennett’s lawyer, released a statement that read: “In the coming days, Jimmy will continue doing what he has been doing over the past months and years, focusing on his music.”</s>Actress Asia Argento has been a vocal proponent of the #MeToo movement since her sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein went public. Now, in a report published Sunday, the New York Times reveals that Argento paid $380,000 to actor Jimmy Bennett after allegedly sexually assaulting him in a hotel room in 2013 when he was 17. Argento had played Bennett’s mother in her 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All things.

According to documents obtained by the Times through a third party – including communication from Argento’s lawyer and a selfie of the actress and her accuser in bed – Bennett, now 22 years old, sent a notice of intent to sue to Argento in November of last year, describing an incident of “sexual battery’ that he says has detrimentally affected his work and “threatened his mental health.” Initially a child actor, Bennett has appeared in Orphan, Movie 43 and the Amazon show Bosch. His lawyer Gordon K. Sattro said in the intent to sue, “His feelings about that day were brought to the forefront recently when Ms. Argento took the spotlight as one of the many victims of Harvey Weinstein.”

While Bennett declined to speak to the Times directly about the settlement, his lawyer replied to them in an email, “In the coming days, Jimmy will continue doing what he has been doing over the past months and years, focusing on his music.” Argento also declined to comment on the Times’ report prior to its publishing.

The actress – who recently made headlines following the tragic death of her late boyfriend Anthony Bourdain – went public last October about her sexual assault at the hands of Harvey Weinstein, later speaking at Cannes in support of a sea change in Hollywood’s treatment of sexual harassment and assault victims. Weinstein’s New York trial for six felony charges stemming from the account of three different women is set to begin with a hearing next month.</s>Italian actress and sexual abuse campaigner Asia Argento denied Tuesday having had a sexual relationship five years ago with an underage teen, calling the allegations part of “a long-standing persecution”.

The New York Times reported on Sunday that Argento, 42, a Harvey Weinstein accuser and leading figure in the #MeToo movement, had paid actor and rock musician Jimmy Bennett $380,000 over the alleged 2013 incident at a Los Angeles hotel.

Bennett was two months past his 17th birthday at the time of the alleged encounter, while Argento was 37. The legal age of consent in California is 18.

“I strongly deny and oppose the contents of the New York Times article… as circulated also in national and international news,” a statement issued by her agent said.

“I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false. I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett,” it goes on.

Argento says that she was linked to Bennett “during several years by friendship only”.

The pair had acted together in the 2004 film “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things”, in which Argento plays Bennett’s troubled mother.

Argento said the friendship “ended when, subsequent to my exposure in the Weinstein case, Bennett… unexpectedly made an exorbitant request of money from me”.

Argento became a powerful voice for the #MeToo movement after accusing Hollywood producer Weinstein of raping her when she was 21 in his hotel room in 1997 during the Cannes film festival.

Argento goes on to say that her boyfriend, the late chef Anthony Bourdain, “was afraid of the possible negative publicity that such a person, whom he considered dangerous, could have brought upon us”.

“We decided to deal compassionately with Bennett’s demand for help and give it to him. Anthony personally undertook to help Bennett economically, upon the condition that we would no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life,” the statement said.

“This is, therefore, the umpteenth development of a sequence of events that brings me great sadness and that constitutes a long-standing persecution,” Argento said, before pledging to take “all necessary initiatives for my protection before all competent venues”.

Bennett’s legal action was launched a month after Argento’s accusations against Weinstein were made public, according to the New York Times report, which added that his lawyer claimed his client recalled the hotel encounter after seeing Argento present herself as a victim of sexual assault.

Argento made an emotional speech at this year’s Cannes festival, telling the audience: “Things have changed. We are not going to allow you to get away with it.”

Weinstein’s lawyer Ben Brafman has sought to capitalise on the allegations against Argento, accusing her of “duplicity” and “a stunning level of hypocrisy”.

On Monday police in California said that Argento was not currently under active investigation over the Times report but that “enquiries will be made”.
American actor Jimmy Bennett accuses Italian actress Asia Argento of having sexual relations with him when he was 17 years old and then paying him $380,000 to keep silent.