Asia Argento has threatened Rose McGowan with a lawsuit if she doesn’t retract a statement she made about Argento last month.
Claims that Argento had sexually assaulted actor Jimmy Bennett when he was 17 years old were made public in August, sparking controversy around the Italian star. Argento has denied the allegations.
Argento said a $380,000 settlement payment had been made by her then-boyfriend Anthony Bourdain to avoid negative publicity. She also claimed she was the victim of sexual assault in the incident – something which Bennett’s team have denied.
Earlier today (September 17), Argento tweeted a message to McGowan, warning her she would take legal action if she did not take back her statement. “Dear @RoseMcGowan. It is with genuine regret that I am giving you 24 hours to retract and apologize for the horrendous lies made against me in your statement of August 27th,” the tweet read. “If you fail to address this libel I will have no option other than to take immediate legal action.”
https://twitter.com/AsiaArgento/status/1038071218396712960
After the news broke, McGowan published a statement severing ties to Argento. “Asia, you were my friend,” she wrote. “I loved you. You’ve spent and risked a lot to stand with the #MeToo movement. I really hope you find your way through this process to rehabilitation and betterment. Anyone can be better – I hope you can be, too. Do the right thing. Be honest. Be fair. Let justice stay its course. Be the person you wish Harvey could have been.”
Argento and McGowan were two of the first women to publicly speak out against Harvey Weinstein last year.