Asia Argento gave Rose McGowan 24 hours Monday to retract comments and claims she made in a statement on Aug. 27 about Argento’s alleged sexual assault of Jimmy Bennett.
Argento threatened legal action against McGowan over her statement, saying it was filled with “horrendous lies.”
“If you fail to address this libel I will have no option other than to take immediate legal action,” Argento said on Twitter.
Dear @RoseMcGowan. It is with genuine regret that I am giving you 24 hours to retract and apologise for the horrendous lies made against me in your statement of August 27th. If you fail to address this libel I will have no option other than to take immediate legal action.
— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) September 17, 2018
McGowan and Argento had become close friends after both accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. In McGowan’s letter, however, she attempted to distance herself from Argento and allegations of being complicit in the controversy. (RELATED: Video Shows Harvey Weinstein Inappropriately Touching Accuser Hours Before Alleged Rape)
McGowan’s statement also addressed text messages between Argento and Rain Dove, whom McGowan is dating.
“Do the right thing. Be honest. Be fair. Let justice stay its course. Be the person you wish Harvey [Weinstein] could have been,” McGowan’s letter stated.
McGowan’s statement came just days after the text messages, leaked by TMZ, showed Argento admitting she had sex with Jimmy Bennett when he was 17 years old, and that she didn’t know he was underage.
“Rain also shared that Asia had stated that she’d been receiving unsolicited nudes of Jimmy since he had been 12. Asia mentioned in these texts that she didn’t take any action on those images,” McGowan’s letter continued.
“No reporting to authorities, to the parents, or blocking of Jimmy’s social media. Not even a simple message ‘Don’t send me these images. They are inappropriate.'”
Argento’s alleged sexual encounter with Bennett was revealed by a New York Times report who cited court documents showing Argento and her late boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain, paid nearly $380,000 to Bennett after he confronted Argento about the encounter in a Ritz-Carlton hotel room in 2013.
Argento has denied any accusations against her involving Bennett.
“I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett,” she said in a statement responding to TheNYT report.
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