The plot thickens. Asia Argento is a talented actress, and her name became infamous last year when she stepped forward to admit that Harvey Weinstein raped her. Argento was a leader in the #MeToo movement, but now, she's getting Me Too'd. Life comes at you fast.
The New York Times broke the story just a few days ago, that Argento paid $380,000 to keep Jimmy Bennett silent about a sexual encounter between the two. Bennett originally starred with Argento in The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things in 2004 when he was eight years old. The two remained friends for years after. The allegations painted a story of a lustful Argento, who gave a 17-year-old Bennett a few drinks and proceeded to take advantage of him in 2013. Allegedly, she gave Bennett oral sex before initiating intercourse. When the story broke, Argento denied that she had ever had sex with Bennett. She claimed that Bennett was going through a financial hardship, and he contacted her for help. Argento was dating Anthony Bourdain at the time, and the actress stated that the late celebrity chef advised and funded the $380,000 to keep Bennett out of the way. "I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennet," she wrote.
It appears she was lying. TMZ reported that they had seen a photo of Bennett and Argento together in bed post-sex, but now, they have published it. Argento and Bennett met at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, CA on May 9, 2013. She posted non-sexual, but very cozy, pictures with the teen on the same date on her Instagram, confirming that the two were definitely together at the hotel on that day. The post-sex photo though, is very incriminating. To anyone familiar with intimate moments, the shirtless satisfied looks on both Bennett and Argento's faces are obvious.
That's not even the worst part. TMZ also got their hands on screenshots of a text message conversation between Argento and one of her friends. In the texts, Argento writes, "I had sex with him it felt weird. I didn't know he was a minor until the shakedown letter." She continued on to write, "The public knows nothing, only what NYT wrote. Which is one sided. The shakedown letter. The horny kid jumped me." Argento also reveals that Bennett said she was her "sexual fantasy" since he was 12, and she shared a photo with her friend of a note Bennett wrote her after they had sex. Apparently, Bennett was sending her unsolicited nudes for years after their encounter, and was still lusting after Argento until his legal team decided to turn the situation into a money grab. Check out the text conversation here.