# Weinstein accuser accused of sexually assaulting a minor **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 20, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900 "2018-08-20T02:50:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Warm\_blood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Warm\_blood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Warm_blood)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/1 "2018-08-20T02:50:22Z")
[Asia Argento, Who Accused Weinstein, Made Deal With Her Own Accuser](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/19/us/asia-argento-assault-jimmy-bennett.html?action=click&module=Top+Stories&pgtype=Homepage) So she allegedly sexually assaulted a former child actor she had known a long time and previously worked with a few years back when he was 17 and she was 37. He claimed the encounter has caused him severe emotional distress in the aftermath and rendered him unable to work, so he prepared to sue her for damages but apparently she bought his silence for $380,000. Well now this has been revealed and neither party wants to comment on the matter. Hmmm. Seeing as she and Rose McGowan were among the first of Weinstein’s victims go public with their own stories and became the unofficial mascots of the #MeToo movement, I wonder how this interesting tidbit about Ms. Argento is going to be covered. Will her hypocrisy be acknowledged at all? Will she be held to the same standard as the men who’ve been accused of sexual misconduct? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/2 "2018-08-20T03:32:57Z")
You’re posting a link to a New York Times article about the subject and then asking how it will be reported and whether the media will go there. I’d suggest that the answer is that it will be reported in the way that it is in fact being reported, in the article you included, and yes, they will go there seeing as they did. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/3 "2018-08-20T03:42:08Z")
1. Weinstein is a billionaire. His lawyers have the resources to examine his accusers lives with a fine tooth comb, and are doing so. No doubt they’ll find things on all of them, few people have lived saint like lives. 2. So what? Most victims of sex crimes aren’t model citizens. They are messed up people, often criminals themselves and not exactly those you’d invite home for dinner. In fact abusers and predators typically target such persons due to their vulnerability. They don’t go after normal well adjusted folks. Wonder why Weinstein was so respectful to the married mother of four, Meryl Streep? As an aside, seems to be his lawyers strategy is that they will show that sexual favours and sexual quid pro quo were and are an accepted part of doing business in Hollywood. I must admit, i can’t really see where they hope to,go with this. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/4 "2018-08-20T03:44:59Z")
Well I guess we’ll never know. It’s well known that everything in the NY Times is fake news right? SO how do we know it happened at all. I mean that lying liberal piece of trash can’t be trusted when it reports about a paragon of right wing virtue. What? [Emily Litella voice] Never mind ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/5 "2018-08-20T03:54:37Z")
“Unofficial mascots of the #MeToo movement”? This has been reports about a series of crimes not sports coverage. We’re not cheering on the sidelines as the Accusers battle it out with the Rapists to see which team will make the playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/6 "2018-08-20T03:55:50Z")
A fairly large number of people have been reported on, but the ones who received the most attention were the ones who did the most wrong, i.e. Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. Asia Argento could end up receiving more coverage than others, on the basis that people love a good older woman, younger man story - witness all of the female teacher stories. Or she could become one name among the many, like Tom Brokaw. Based on the current level of accusation, I would expect the story to fairly quickly pass since that would match what we have seen happen with most of the others who have been accused of sexual misconduct. If we find out that she was a serial offender, then it would be reasonable to expect a plethora of articles on the subject. If there aren’t a bunch more accusers, and yet this story gets a bunch of heavy press coverage, then that would not be because there is more to tell, but simply that people there were a lot of clicks on the article headline, and the media sensed money to be made by re-posting on the subject. That tells you less about Ms. Argento than it does about what sorts of topic excite the average person. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/7 "2018-08-20T03:58:47Z")
> [@Warm\_blood](#): > > I wonder how this interesting tidbit about Ms. Argento is going to be covered. > [@Warm\_blood](#): > > [Asia Argento, Who Accused Weinstein, Made Deal With Her Own Accuser](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/19/us/asia-argento-assault-jimmy-bennett.html?action=click&module=Top+Stories&pgtype=Homepage) …you’ve answered your own question. > [@](#): > > Will her hypocrisy be acknowledged at all? What hypocrisy? > [@](#): > > Will she be held to the same standard as the men who’ve been accused of sexual misconduct? What is “the same standard as the men”? What is it, do you think “the standard” should be? ---
**Author:** ![Warm\_blood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Warm\_blood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Warm_blood)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/8 "2018-08-20T04:39:32Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > 1. Weinstein is a billionaire. His lawyers have the resources to examine his accusers lives with a fine tooth comb, and are doing so. No doubt they’ll find things on all of them, few people have lived saint like lives. > > 2. So what? Most victims of sex crimes aren’t model citizens. They are messed up people, often criminals themselves and not exactly those you’d invite home for dinner. In fact abusers and predators typically target such persons due to their vulnerability. They don’t go after normal well adjusted folks. Wonder why Weinstein was so respectful to the married mother of four, Meryl Streep? > > As an aside, seems to be his lawyers strategy is that they will show that sexual favours and sexual quid pro quo were and are an accepted part of doing business in Hollywood. I must admit, i can’t really see where they hope to,go with this. How interesting that possibly being guilty of sexual assaulting a minor is merely dismissed as “not having lived a sainted life” or being less than a “model citizen”. That’s not the language I see used when the genders are reversed. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “Unofficial mascots of the #MeToo movement”? > > This has been reports about a series of crimes not sports coverage. We’re not cheering on the sidelines as the Accusers battle it out with the Rapists to see which team will make the playoffs. What are you talking about? I made the observation that Argento and McGowan are the faces of the #MeToo movement for reasons that shouldn’t need to be explained to anyone who hasn’t lived under a rock for the past year, and you’re on a weird tangent about cheering for a side. > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > A fairly large number of people have been reported on, but the ones who received the most attention were the ones who did the most wrong, i.e. Weinstein and Kevin Spacey. > > Asia Argento could end up receiving more coverage than others, on the basis that people love a good older woman, younger man story - witness all of the female teacher stories. Or she could become one name among the many, like Tom Brokaw. > > Based on the current level of accusation, I would expect the story to fairly quickly pass since that would match what we have seen happen with most of the others who have been accused of sexual misconduct. If we find out that she was a serial offender, then it would be reasonable to expect a plethora of articles on the subject. > > If there aren’t a bunch more accusers, and yet this story gets a bunch of heavy press coverage, then that would not be because there is more to tell, but simply that people there were a lot of clicks on the article headline, and the media sensed money to be made by re-posting on the subject. That tells you less about Ms. Argento than it does about what sorts of topic excite the average person. What sets this story this story apart from all the others of its ilk is that: 1. The accuser is someone who’s been in the spotlight for coming forward about being sexually assaulted by a much more powerful person. Now it’s alleged that she may have done the exact same thing to someone else not in the distant past, but fairly recently. 2. An accusation is just that, an accusation. But paying off your accuser in response to their threats to sue you will look suspicious to most people. > [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > What hypocrisy? If it’s not blindingly obvious to you, the hypocrisy of decrying sexual predators whilst being one. As for which standard, the standard of being automatically assumed guilty on the basis of an accusation. Some of these knee-jerk responses are rather telling. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/9 "2018-08-20T04:46:13Z")
I’ll be the cynic and say: The 17yo who claims to be so traumatized because he got laid by an attractive 37yo, was looking for a payday. ---
**Author:** ![Warm\_blood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Warm\_blood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Warm_blood)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/10 "2018-08-20T04:47:41Z")
Admittedly my fault for not clarifying the point of this thread being posted in GD, but what I wanted to inquire apart from whether Asia’s gender and high-profile nature as a known victim of sexual assault will affect how this story is covered and how people react to it, is whether this stands a chance of damaging MeToo’s rep given that Asia is so strongly tied to it, especially if she doesn’t receive the same level of rebuke that men accused of sexual misconduct (even by just one accuser) have, and whether social movements that are social media based have a responsibility to be more careful about whom they allow to represent them. Also, if movements meant to rep sexual assault victims should distance themselves from famous victims that are also exposed as predators, or is it fair that they rep everyone with the philosophy that no victim is perfect (although this is a very, very slippery slope) and people have to learn to sympathize with the victims regardless of what they did. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/11 "2018-08-20T04:50:38Z")
> [@Warm\_blood](#): > > If it’s not blindingly obvious to you, the hypocrisy of decrying sexual predators whilst being one. …Nope. Not seeing the hypocrisy. Over 80 women have accused Harvey Weinstein of rape, sexual assault and sexual abuse, including Argento herself. Would the correct thing for her to do was remain silent, lest she later be “accused of hypocrisy”? Did lending her voice in support of the other women who were either raped, sexually assaulted or abused the wrong thing for her to do? > [@](#): > > Some of these knee-jerk responses are rather telling. It is entirely fair to characterize the OP as “knee-jerk.” The responses? Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/12 "2018-08-20T05:05:17Z")
> [@Warm\_blood](#): > > is whether this stands a chance of damaging MeToo’s rep given that Asia is so strongly tied to it, …the only people who are interested in damaging the rep of #metoo are the people who decry and complain about it anyway. #metoo is too fucking big for this to do any damage. You’ve heard their voices right? You’ve been listening to what they have to say? Those who use #metoo are only too fucking aware that not everybody who uses the hashtag is perfect. So no: this isn’t going to hurt the hashtag one bit. > [@](#): > > especially if she doesn’t receive the same level of rebuke that men accused of sexual misconduct (even by just one accuser) have, George Takei only had one accuser. So if you want a benchmark then we’ve got it. What happened to George Takei? I’ve already seen some prominent feminists I follow on twitter condemn this. How many are you following? How are you going to determine if the “outrage” is acceptable or not? Or maybe look at Michael Jackson. Multiple accusers, lots of payouts,found not guilty. Did the payouts make a difference? Should they have found him guilty because the payouts prove that he was guilty of something? > [@](#): > > and whether social movements that are social media based have a responsibility to be more careful about whom they allow to represent them. We are talking about a hashtag. How does a hashtag have a responsibility? What is it that you want the hashtag to do? ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/13 "2018-08-20T05:13:31Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I’ll be the cynic and say: The 17yo who claims to be so traumatized because he got laid by an attractive 37yo, was looking for a payday. Are you actually suggesting that a male can’t be a victim of sexual assault by a female? If you bother to read the article you would see that Bennett first met her at the age of 7 when they were cast in a film together. She would have been 27 at the time. If he got laid by her at the age of 7 would you still think he was just looking for a payday? From the article: > [@](#): > > In interviews and subsequent social media posts between the two over the years, they referred to each other as mother and son. > > On May 9, 2013, the day they met for a reunion in her room at a Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey, Calif., she posted on Instagram: “Waiting for my long lost son my love @jimmymbennett in trepidation #marinadelrey smoking cigarettes like there was no next week.” Sorry, but if this happened as described, Argento fucked up and has serious issues. ---
**Author:** ![Warm\_blood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Warm\_blood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Warm_blood)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/14 "2018-08-20T05:16:42Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > …Nope. Not seeing the hypocrisy. Not in the least bit surprised this is your view. > [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > George Takei only had one accuser. So if you want a benchmark then we’ve got it. What happened to George Takei? George Takei’s accuser recanted his accusation. Makes it hard to maintain the narrative that someone is a sexual predator when their only alleged victim is outed as an opportunistic liar. > [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > Or maybe look at Michael Jackson. Multiple accusers, lots of payouts,found not guilty. Did the payouts make a difference? Should they have found him guilty because the payouts prove that he was guilty of something? Suddenly your standard for determining guilt changes. Whatever happened to believing the victim first? I can no longer take you seriously on this topic, so I’d rather not further engage with you. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/15 "2018-08-20T05:28:57Z")
> [@Warm\_blood](#): > > What sets this story this story apart from all the others of its ilk is that: > > 1. The accuser is someone who’s been in the spotlight for coming forward about being sexually assaulted by a much more powerful person. Now it’s alleged that she may have done the exact same thing to someone else not in the distant past, but fairly recently. > 2. An accusation is just that, an accusation. But paying off your accuser in response to their threats to sue you will look suspicious to most people. I’d be reasonably happy to make it a crime to pay someone to keep quiet or to pay a blackmailer. But, personally, on that angle I’m more concerned about David Pecker and other Catch and Kill artists than I am about Asia Argento. Ideally, the police will start an investigation into her, and she’ll see some time for doing the same sort of thing as Weinstein. But there’s a larger issue that law currently doesn’t cover, and it should. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/16 "2018-08-20T05:42:08Z")
> [@Warm\_blood](#): > > Not in the least bit surprised this is your view. …and I’m not surprised that you aren’t surprised. > [@](#): > > George Takei’s accuser recanted his accusation. He didn’t recant immediately. We can compare the immediate reaction then with the immediate reaction now, can we not? > [@](#): > > Makes it hard to maintain the narrative that someone is a sexual predator when their only alleged victim is outed as an opportunistic liar. Well if you don’t want to use George Takei then who do you want to use? Set a benchmark. Otherwise you are simply waving your hands in the air. > [@](#): > > Suddenly your standard for determining guilt changes. **Whatever happened to believing the victim first?** Cite for this please. You’ve accused me of this before. All I can suggest is that you read my posts a bit more carefully because I take care, as much as I can, to hold a nuanced position. I tend not to determine guilt. That isn’t my job. I do hold opinions. And I didn’t determine guilt here. I asked you a question. > [@](#): > > I can no longer take you seriously on this topic, so I’d rather not further engage with you. BYE! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/17 "2018-08-20T06:04:25Z")
> [@Warm\_blood](#): > > What are you talking about? I made the observation that Argento and McGowan are the faces of the #MeToo movement for reasons that shouldn’t need to be explained to anyone who hasn’t lived under a rock for the past year, and you’re on a weird tangent about cheering for a side. No, you did not just make an observation. You specifically used the word “mascot”. Cheering on the sidelines is what mascots do. If you didn’t want that connection made, I guess you shouldn’t have made it. > [@Warm\_blood](#): > > If it’s not blindingly obvious to you, the hypocrisy of decrying sexual predators whilst being one. As for which standard, the standard of being automatically assumed guilty on the basis of an accusation. Thieves get robbed. Murderers get murdered. And rapists get raped. The fact that Argento committed a sex crime against somebody else doesn’t disprove her accusations that Weinstein committed a sex crime against her. > [@Warm\_blood](#): > > Some of these knee-jerk responses are rather telling. It’s pretty obvious that anything anyone said - or nothing being said at all - would all be telling you the same message. ---
**Author:** ![Warm\_blood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Warm\_blood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Warm_blood)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/18 "2018-08-20T06:23:24Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, you did not just make an observation. You specifically used the word “mascot”. Cheering on the sidelines is what mascots do. If you didn’t want that connection made, I guess you shouldn’t have made it. If you want to be needlessly pedantic to miss the point, that’s on you. > [@](#): > > Thieves get robbed. Murderers get murdered. And rapists get raped. The fact that Argento committed a sex crime against somebody else doesn’t disprove her accusations that Weinstein committed a sex crime against her. Where did I insinuate that these allegations against her weaken the credibility of her accusations against Weinstein? Are you confused about what hypocrisy means? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/19 "2018-08-20T06:39:40Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Argento fucked up and has serious issues. Anyone who actually knows anything about her already knows she has serious issues. And yes, this is a serious fuck up. It in no way invalidates the #metoo movement. Quite the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2018, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900/20 "2018-08-20T07:09:39Z")
> [@AK84](#): > > 1. So what? Most victims of sex crimes aren’t model citizens. They are messed up people, often criminals themselves and not exactly those you’d invite home for dinner. In fact abusers and predators typically target such persons due to their vulnerability. They don’t go after normal well adjusted folks. Wonder why Weinstein was so respectful to the married mother of four, Meryl Streep? As I read this post, I’m picturing Biff Tannen from _Back to the Future_ under a truckload of manure. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weinstein-accuser-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-a-minor/819900.md?page=2)