As Asia Argento attempts to put out the fire that she started, her victim is speaking out. Argento was one of the first women to speak out against Harvey Weinstein and craft the #MeToo movement. This Summer though, Argento was Me Too'd herself when it was discovered that she had sex with then minor Jimmy Bennett. The convoluted story featured conflicting stories, but a now-viral picture of Argento and Bennett post-coital, and screenshots of text messages where Argento admits to having sex with the minor, put the nail in the coffin.
Bennett has remained relatively quiet since the news broke, but he agreed to do an interview in Argento's home country of Italy. Bennett was interviewed by Massimo Giletti, which would be the equivalent of him being interview by someone like Anderson Cooper in America. The hour-long interview took place on Giletti's Non e l’Arena show, which translates to “Outside The Arena." Giletti spoke in his native tongue, while Bennett and his lawyer Gordon Sattro wore translation headphones to both understand, and speak to the host. The interview was awkward, to say the least, with the Italian audience seemingly positioned against Bennett.
At one point, Giletti asked, “Was the rapport complete?” Bennett was confused by the question, which essentially meant "Did you ejaculate?" When Bennett finally understood the question, he answered “Well, yes.” The live audience was displeased with his answer. “It’s difficult to believe a woman can rape a man, an act of sex that is complete cannot be rape surely,” stated the host, arguing that if an orgasm is reached, the act should not be considered rape. When Giletti displayed the post-coital picture of Bennett, the host stated, “I’m sorry, but you don’t seem upset, you don’t seem in this picture to be traumatized. You don’t look here like someone who was afraid.” Bennett, who must have thought he was walking into a less tense interview, began to get defensive.
“I was worried about coming in front of an audience and being accused of not being sincere about the violence against me,” he stated. “After this, that’s why I chose the silent route. I was right.” Bennett was 17 at the time of the incident, which is still considered statutory rape in California. Meanwhile, in Italy, the age of consent is 14, which may explain the audience's opinions.
(Via)
