Mira Sorvino is still reeling over the news of sexual assault accusations against Asia Argento and shared her thoughts on the matter Tuesday night.
Sorvino, who has been one of the most vocal supporters of the #MeToo movement since she came forward about Harvey Weinstein’s harassment of her in Ronan Farrow’s New Yorker story, said she is heartsick over the accusations against Argento and is “hoping against hope that it is not true.”
“Time will clarify things and perhaps she will be exonerated, but if true, there is no lens that makes it better,” the “Mighty Aphrodite” star said.
Having just touched down from several weeks abroad, I am reeling from the recent news. Although hoping against hope that it is not true, here are my current thoughts: pic.twitter.com/8oOF3LmHLQ
— Mira Sorvino (@MiraSorvino) August 22, 2018
Argento, who was also one of Weinstein’s early accusers, had denied the accusation that she sexually assaulted actor Jimmy Bennett when he was underage.
In a statement issued earlier on Tuesday, Argento addressed the New York Times report that she paid Bennett $380,000 following his accusation, saying that her boyfriend, deceased celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, “personally undertook to help Bennett economically, upon the condition that we would no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life.”
“I strongly deny and oppose the contents of the New York Times article,”Argento said in a statement to journalist Yashar Ali. “I am deeply shocked and hurt by having read news that is absolutely false. I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett.”
Late Sunday, the Times reported that Argento arranged to pay a settlement last November to Bennett, a now-22-year-old actor-musician who played Argento’s son in the 2004 film “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things.”
Documents obtained by the paper indicated that Bennett met Argento in a California hotel room in May 2013 — just two months after his 17th birthday — where he said she sexually assaulted him.
“Child sexual assault is a heinous crime and is against all that I and the #MeToo movement stands for,” Sorvino tweeted. “I remain dedicated to fight for all victims and change the culture that encourages the abuse of power in sexual relationships.