Last week, The New York Times published an explosive account of Harvey Weinstein's many alleged acts of sexual assault and harassment. Tuesday, The New Yorker dropped their own exposé, which contains chilling details that did not appear in the original Times piece. Namely, reporter Ronan Farrow (Woody Allen's son with actress Mia Farrow) writes that Weinstein raped three women. A "former aspiring actress" Lucia Evans, born Lucia Stoller, describes being forced to perform oral sex on Weinstein, and Asia Argento, an Italian actress and director, describes a similar encounter during which Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her. The third woman, who decline to be named, said that Weinstein "forced himself" on her "sexually."
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“I was not willing...I said, ‘No, no, no," Argento, 42, said of the rape. She was 22 at the time. "It’s twisted. A big fat man wanting to eat you. It’s a scary fairy tale."
Evans, who ultimately did not pursue acting, said she was raped by Weinstein when she was a student at Middlebury college. According to Evans' account, after meeting the legendary producer at a club, she gave her number to Weinstein, who set up a meeting at the Miramax office in TriBeCa. Evans was led to believe a female executive would be present at the meeting, a practice, Farrow writes, that was common for Weinstein. (The female executive operated as a part of a perverted booby trap called a "honeypot;" young actresses would be told the meeting was with Weinstein and another executive, usually a woman. Then, the other would not show up, or would leave shortly after the meeting began.)
After discussing acting prospects with Evans, she says Weinstein forced her to perform fellatio. "I said, over and over, ‘I don’t want to do this, stop, don’t."
Evans says her mental health and school work suffered following the rape. Refinery29 has reached out to Evans for comment.
The third woman, who is not named in the piece, said she never went to police because she thought the situation "would be a 'He said, she said.'" She was also deterred by the size of Weinstein's legal team — she explained, "I was in a vulnerable position and I needed my job."
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Argento, who has yet to respond to Refinery29's request for comment, has been actively tweeting since the piece was published.
"You will know the truth. And the truth will set you free," Argento wrote alongside a link to Farrow's piece.
You will know the truth. And the truth will set you free. https://t.co/8rFPYC3Q4I
— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) October 10, 2017
The New Yorker piece notes that Argento directed a film in 2000 called Scarlet Diva in which a large producer attempts to assault a young actress, played by Argento. The scene is a version of Argento's encounter with Weinstein.
In response to the piece, Argento shared the video clip of the scene on Twitter.
The caption does all the explaining you need: Writes Argento, "I wrote and directed this scene in 1999. #Weinstein."
I wrote and directed this scene in 1999. #Weinstein pic.twitter.com/VFRJQM0O4M
— Asia Argento (@AsiaArgento) October 10, 2017
On Sunday, Harvey Weinstein was terminated from The Weinstein Company. Many celebrities have since spoken out against Weinstein, including Judi Dench, Meryl Streep, and Jessica Chastain.
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