Rose McGowan is continuing to distance herself from Asia Argento after sexual misconduct accusations were made against the actress and #MeToo movement leader by actor Jimmy Bennett. But while she says the claims make her “sick to my stomach,” she believes some good can come out of this turn of events.
“The truth about that story is between those two people,” McGowan told “Good Morning Britain” hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid Tuesday, regarding Bennett, who accused Argento of sexually assaulting him when he was 17 years old in 2013. “What is positive about this story, if we’re looking for a silver lining here, is that Jimmy Bennett — the accuser and the alleged victim in this case — is showing that boys have voices and boys get hurt too. And I think that is — if we’re going to look for beauty in this really disgusting, horrible situation that has broken mine and so many people’s hearts…But more importantly, you know, someone got in touch with me right afterwards and it’s a guy who is in his 40s and he said he was in a sexual relationship when he was 15 with a 24-year-old woman, he was a skinny teenage boy, he was getting all these backslaps. But he said in retrospect it really damaged him.”
When Morgan asked if McGowan, who will be the first woman to accept the Inspiration Award at GQ’s Men of the Year tomorrow, felt betrayed she said: “It doesn’t really matter, my feelings in the face of Jimmy Bennett’s feelings are very insignificant. Personally, it’s been a hard year with a lot of betrayals. This last four years has been betrayals from every side, but this really isn’t about me. It is a horrible situation, I fundamentally do not understand people that are attracted to young people, of any sexual orientation… But there will be due process. And my heart’s racing, it makes me sick to my stomach, it hurts me deeply. But I believe the good part of it is that we’re realizing boys get hurt too.”
Argento had previously been a prominent figure in the #MeToo movement after coming forward last year with her own sexual assault accusations against Harvey Weinstein during the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. Argento denied Bennett’s accusations but told The Guardian that she, Bennett and Bourdain mutually agreed to handle the matter privately, with Bourdain paying Bennett $380,000 for his silence.
“Bennett knew my boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain, was a man of great perceived wealth, and had his own reputation as a beloved public figure to protect,” Argento said.
“Anthony insisted the matter be handled privately and this was also what Bennett wanted. Anthony was afraid of the possible negative publicity that such a person, whom he considered dangerous, could have brought upon us.”
McGowan told “Good Morning Britain” that “#MeToo is not just for women.”
“My response is that I’ve had so many men share their stories of abuse, my response is that it’s never happened before in history and people are freaking out and trying to analyze and crunch the data, my response is to let it breathe, let people breathe and have their voice,” she added. “Honestly if I feel like walking down the street naked, no one has the right to rape me… When I take my girlfriend, who is masculine presenting just naturally, to a gay club, often times she gets grabbed. And I’ve been grabbed, and a boy, anybody, gets grabbed. And everybody has the sovereign right to their body.”
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