Italian actress / director Asia Argento — a vocal spokesperson of the #MeToo movement and Harvey Weinstein accuser — has been fired from her judging role on the Italian version of X Factor after sexual misconduct claims were levelled against her by a young actor.
Just over a week ago, the New York Times published claims that Argento had paid actor Jimmy Bennett USD$380,000 to settle his accusation out of court.
He had said that in 2013, when he was 17 and Argento was 37, the director assaulted him in a hotel room.
The age of consent in California, where the pair were working on a film, is 18.
Though Argento admitted to the payout — saying the cash came from her late fiancé Anthony Bourdain who thought Bennett was “dangerous” — she has flatly denied any sexual misconduct.
But producers of X Factor have still decided to cut her from the show, according to sources who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter. The outlet reports that she’ll still appear in the first 7 episodes of the reality show, which have already been shot.
A source told THR that to start filming again would unfairly penalise the approximately 40,000 hopefuls who had first auditioned to be on the show.
A replacement for Argento has yet to be named, and she is yet to comment on her apparent firing.
