Harvey Weinstein accuser ASIA ARGENTO IN BED WITH 17-YEAR OLD BOY... In Sexual Encounter
Asia Argento, one of Harvey Weinstein accusers, had initially denied she had sex with the then teenager after it emerged she'd paid him £300,000 to settle out of court.
Asia Argento says she did not have sex with then 17-year-old Jimmy Bennett, but a photo and various text messages between Argento and a friend tell a very different story ... she flat-out says she had sex with him, TMZ reported.
TMZ shared one of 4 photos Bennett, now 22, took in a Marina del Rey hotel room back in 2013.
The photo showed the then 37-year-old Argento and Bennett on a bed shirtless, their heads on a pillow and their arms entangled. Sources told TMZ the pic was taken after the two had intercourse.
It's a crime in California for an adult to have sex with a person under 18.
Bennett later threatened legal action and, in April, Argento settled with him for $380,000 ... which her boyfriend, Anthony Bourdain, paid, TMZ reported.
Argento released a statement Tuesday, saying, "I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett."
Below are partial text exchanges between Argento and one of her friends. Argento and the friend went back and forth in the midst of the backlash from the New York Times story that ran Sunday about her and Bennett. Argento's messages are in grey ... her friend's are in blue, TMZ reported.
Argento says Bennett wrote this note (above) on Ritz-Carlton stationary -- the hotel where they hooked up -- and said, "Asia, I love you with all my heart. So glad we met again and I'm so glad your in my life. Jimmy."
She texts her friend the note, saying, "He wrote me this afterwards and kept sending me unsolicited nudes all these years up until 2 weeks before the attorneys letter, TMZ reported.
Argento goes on to say ... "it wasn't raped (sic) but I was frozen. He was on top of me. After, he told me I had been his sexual fantasy since was 12."
She has accused Harvey Weinstein of rape and is one of the first women to come forward in the #MeToo movement.
Earlier in the week, Weinstein's lawyer Ben Brafman, lashed out, saying, "This development reveals a stunning level of hypocrisy by Asia Argento, one of the most vocal catalysts who sought to destroy Harvey Weinstein."
TMZ reported that, the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. is reaching out to Bennett to determine if a criminal investigation is warranted.
Argento and Bennett, who is now 20, met in 2004 when he was cast as her son in "The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things"
#MeToo campaigner Asia Argento previously denied that she sexually assaulted Jimmy Bennett, 17, in 2013
Argento's alleged predator, Harvey Weinstein, slammed the actress for her 'stunning hypocrisy'
Argento has claimed then-boyfriend Anthony Bourdain agreed to pay off Bennett, £300,000, for his silence
My view: Even though Harvey Weistein is a pervert, I think he should fight each case thoroughly, as it shows that some of the women accusing him are being economical with the truth, just because people believed he treated some women that worked with him as objects and some of them didn't care because they were getting acting work and earning millions. it's like they didn't mind then, that Weistein was flirting with them in exchange for acting work. Argento is a hypocrite her own case with the underage teenager is even worse and may her late boyfriend Anthony Bourdain's soul Rest In Peace, only God knows why he commited suicide, it's really sad.