Asia Argento is making new sexual abuse charges against “Fast and Furious” director Rob Cohen.
The Italian actor and director – who has was one of the most outspoken voices against sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and is one of the first accusations of tycoon Harvey Weinstein – on Sunday, confirmed to Variety allegations that she made over the weekend in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera and other Italian media.
“It is the first time that I speak of Cohen,” Argento told Milan daily. “He abused me, making me drink GHB, he had a bottle,” she said, referring to fast-acting anesthetic with a history of use in rape.
“At the time, I really didn’t know what it was. I woke up in the morning naked in your bed, ”added Argento. She claimed that Cohen’s attack occurred while she was shooting the action film directed by Cohen in 2002 “XXx”, alongside Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson.
“I confirm what [was] reported by Corriere, ”said Argento Variety in a text message. “I talk about this in my autobiography,” she added.
Argento’s accusations against Cohen are addressed in his autobiography “Anatomy of a Wild Heart”, which will be released in Italy from January 26.
Speaking on Mediaset’s “Veríssimo” talk show on Saturday to promote the book, Argento specified that she had not made the charges against Cohen for several reasons.
On the show, Argento stated that he was initially unsure of what had happened to her when she was allegedly drugged and raped. “I found out later, talking to a friend who opened my eyes about that substance [GHB],” she said.
Subsequently, once she fully realized, Argento said that “she didn’t want to create another storm.” She noted, however, that “since two women spoke out against [Cohen], including his daughter, ”she subsequently decided to make her accusations.
In 2019, Cohen was accused in a Huffington Post report of allegedly sexually assaulting an unidentified victim – who was named “Jane” in the article to protect her anonymity – while she was unconscious. The reported attack came in 2015 after Cohen invited “Jane” to a business meeting in Manhattan to discuss collaboration on a TV pilot.
In early 2019, Cohen faced similar charges from his daughter Valkyrie Weather, who accused him of molesting her when she was a child. Weather also accused Cohen of taking her to visit sex workers at filming locations abroad when she was a teenager. Cohen denied the charges in both cases.
The director did not respond to Variety’s requests for comment so far. A Cohen representative denied the allegations to AFP on Friday.
“Mr Cohen categorically denies Asia Argento’s charge of attacking him as absolutely false,” a Cohen spokesman told AFP.
“When they worked together, they had an excellent working relationship and Mr. Cohen considered her a friend, so this claim that goes back to 2002 is baffling, especially considering what has been reported about her in recent years.”
Argento, which in 2017 became a leader #MeToo figure when she spoke against Weinstein for Ronan Farrow’s article “The New Yorker”, was later charged with sexual assault in 2018 by American actor Jimmy Bennett, in a case that was resolved after his late partner Anthony Bourdain paid to Bennett $ 380,000 after his charges, which Argento denied.