Italian actress claims rape by Hollywood director | Inquirer Entertainment

Italian actress claims rape by Hollywood director

/ 08:19 AM October 17, 2017

Asia Argento. AFP FILE PHOTO

ROME, Italy — Italian actress Asia Argento, one of several women to accuse US movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse, has now claimed a Hollywood director raped her.

“Hollywood big shot director with Napoleon complex gave me GHB (the “date rape” drug) and raped me unconscious. I was 26 years old,” she said in a Tweet that caused outrage in Italy on Monday.

Article continues after this advertisement

She did not name her alleged attacker, writing in another Tweet: “I have in no way named the aggressor nor provided elements to identify him. So those who claim to know, writing his name here or elsewhere, are entirely responsible for their actions”.

FEATURED STORIES

Under the viral hashtag #quellavoltache (#thattimethat) which has seen Italian women come forward about sexual assaults, Argento said she had been a victim of abuse in Italy too.

“An Italian director/actor pulled out his penis when I was 16 years old and was in his trailer to discuss the ‘role’,” she wrote, again not naming him.

Article continues after this advertisement

Last week Argento told the New Yorker magazine that she was raped by Weinstein in 1997 in a hotel room on the Cote d’Azur, which she described as a “horrible trauma.”

Article continues after this advertisement

She said she had other sexual relations with the producer until 2002. Those were consensual but she said she nonetheless felt obligated to submit to his advances.

Article continues after this advertisement

“Weinstein was a serial predator, and he did it with hundreds of women, and if the scandal did not come out sooner, it was because he was stifling everything, newspapers and journalists,” Argento said in an interview in Sunday’s edition of the La Stampa daily.

More than 20 women — a who’s who of Hollywood — have come forward to accuse Weinstein of rape, assault and sexual harassment.

Article continues after this advertisement

Weinstein, who insists any sexual encounters were consensual, was expelled this week from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. /cbb

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

TAGS: Asia Argento, Entertainment, Harvey Weinstein, Hollywood, Italy, Movies, Rape

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.