As we discussed yesterday, Asia Argento now claims that Jimmy Bennett sexually assaulted her in 2013. At the time, he was 17 and she was 37. Unlike her previous claim that nothing happened, her new version is that he “jumped her” and that she was “frozen” when they had sex. She claimed that Anthony Bourdain agreed to pay off Bennett to save her reputation and cause the least amount of drama. Now that the story is out there, Argento refuses to pay the rest of the out-of-court settlement she agreed to with Bennett. And so… no surprise, Bennett is filing a sexual assault claim with the LA County Sheriff’s Department.
Asia Argento has just poked the bear, because we’ve learned Jimmy Bennett — who was 17 when he had sex with her — is going to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Dept. to file a sexual assault claim against her and cooperate with the investigation. Bennett, who is now 22, has been on the fence as to whether he’d cooperate with authorities, but he’s now decided to go full steam ahead.
We’re told Bennett’s tipping point was the statement Argento’s lawyer released Tuesday, attacking his character. Her lawyer, Mark Heller, talked about Bennett’s “unfortunate past, stalled acting career … his desperation to seek money.” Heller also referenced that Bennett had been a drug user. Bennett’s lawyer, Gordon Sattro, tells TMZ, “the attack on my client’s character has no bearing on the events that took place on May 9, 2013. These are statements that are meant to intimidate, shame and insult my client.”
The maximum penalty for statutory rape in California in a case involving a 17-year-old is 3 years in prison. Attorney Heller tells TMZ, “Asia encourages anybody, including Bennett, to come forward with any allegation concerning a sexual assault, and she is prepared to take any and all steps necessary to continues to protect her reputation and defend against any false allegations.”
As I have said repeatedly, I believe Jimmy Bennett. I believe his story, and I believe that he really didn’t want this to become public. I believe it took him years to understand what happened to him and that he was disturbed by Argento being hailed as a fearless victim. To be clear, I also think Argento was a victim… of Harvey Weinstein. But I also think she was a predator when it came to Jimmy Bennett. As for Bennett filing a sexual assault claim… we’ll see if anything happens. I have my doubts.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I don’t know what men see in her. The sex must be crazy good.
This is… kind of a gross comment. Should we be hypothesizing about her skills when she’s both a sexual predator and a victim of sexual assault?
Yeah, I’m also going to assume that the whole sexual predator thing would change a LOT of these guys minds. Not all, sadly. But the decent ones.
Well, she was neither of those things vis a vis Bourdain, and I just don’t get what he saw in her, that’s all.
What does this comment even mean? You sound so ignorant. She may be an ass, but so are for thos misogynist comment.
Oh you think Argento is an “ass”? Whoa! Strong words for a sexual predator who also conned and manipulated another man (who killed himself shortly afterwards) into paying off her victim.
LOL
Tell it walking.
She’s a narcissist. They are manipulative by nature and necessity.
Illustrative anecdote: My friend’s soon-to-be-legally-ex husband has pleaded guilty to historical child sex abuses (he is awaiting sentencing). Their house is up for sale and, as she is a witness against him and they cannot be within 100m of each other (and he is still living in their jointly-owned house), she needed someone to attend the auction on her behalf to report back and liaise with the agent.
As I was waiting for the auction to start, he broke the unwritten protocol of an auction where the vendor stays well away from potential buyers and, thinking I was a genuine bidder and that he could “charm” a sale out of me, introduced himself (not remembering we had met before).
I am a no-bullsh*t person; my right eyebrow is permanently cocked. I have also had two years of hearing my friend’s corroborated accounts of the near-endless, depthless depravity, crimes and abuses of this man over our countless nights of wine, tears and sanity-preserving laughter. And yet after all that, even knowing that he has been clinically diagnosed as both a psychopath and a narcissist as well as an admitted rapist- when he shook my hand and smiled, there was still a part of my stupid, gullible, non-sociopathic mind that automatically thought “What a nice man….”
The first thing I did afterwards was call my exceedingly intelligent friend and tell her that I understood how she ended up where she did and applauded her again for getting out of that man’s insidious web.
My point is- it can happen to the best of us.
Yeah, I am sure it can, you’re right.
That’s an enlightening (and chilling) story. Thanks for sharing it.
Once people start lying their credibility goes out the window. So no, I don’t believe a word she says and I’m not apologetic over it. It’s on her, not me.
Glad he is filing charges but I don’t think she will be charged.
I hope the money he got is returned to Anthony’s family.
Agree – the fact that he accepted money from them in exchange for silence will count against him in front of a jury, even she is charged. It’s pretty much all the ammunition her lawyers need to spin a narrative of him just wanting to make a buck and create reasonable doubt.
I suppose the ‘silver lining’ is that she isn’t a white man so she will have fewer people defending her and her career is pretty much done? Ughhhguhjdishai this just makes me sick.
It truly is sickening.
He didn’t take money in exchange for silence. His attorney sent Asia a notice of intent to sue. His intention was to sue Asia for emotional trauma related to the sexual assault. They settled out of court, so there was no need to proceed with the lawsuit. This isn’t suspicious at all, as most legal disputes are settled out of court. There was no confidentiality agreement in their settlement.
Asia is trying to make the victim look shady by making it sound as though Bennett was extorting her and Anthony quietly paid him money under the table to make him go away.
Don’t fall for the spin.
Goldie that is what I thought originally. Thanks for clearing it up.
She’s a horrible and arrogant person.
She has done so much damage, first to the young man she victimized and then re-victimized by dragging this through the press with her nonsense and lies. Secondly by dragging Bourdain’s name through the mud when he is no longer here to defend himself, and when he has a young child that has to witness this. Finally by providing ammunition to the neck-beard bros that like to claim that all women lie when claiming they are victims of assault and abuse. I fell down the rabbit hole of twitter yesterday in that back and forth with Argento and Rain Dove and people are still claiming Argento did nothing wrong, that the contact with Bennett was “consensual” even though he was underage.
Seems to me that if he’s having money problems due to his parents’ lack of due diligence/ ethics, it makes even more vulnerable to predators, namely her.
Poor argument, IMO.
He was 17 in 2013, not now. He’s presumably been handling his own money for a few years.
He actually did sue his parents for allegedly mishandling the money he made as a child star, once he was 18. Likely most of it was gone. The suit was settled but it sounds like an absolute mess and he and his parent were at serious odds during his teen years (not sure about now).
i sincerely wish these stories could leave out the pics of these losers, would prefer not to see Asia’s, Harvey’s, Woody’s, etc, misc, smug faces
gagging irl
NDAs are na in suits/settlements with minors. At least in CA.
Can soneone please make a t shirt that says “I believe Jimmy”?
She always looks unwashed and probably smells of heavy perfume to cover the BO.
The picture where she is wearing the spider jewelry is very telling. Is that how she pictures herself? A spider? Come into my web little Jimmy!
It’s the one eye witch symbol.
And I agree with the “always looks dirty” comment.
Black widow.
This story reeks of all kinds of shadiness.