Italian actress Asia Argento, who accused Harvey Weinstein of rape and has been accused herself of sexual assaulting a minor, will quit the Italian reality show “X Factor”, producers said Wednesday.
A statement said that “by mutual agreement with Asia Argento,” Sky Italia and FremantleMedia had decided to end Argento’s work as a juror on the show, which is to begin its 12th season in Italy.
Argento, 42, has played a leading role in the #MeToo campaign to end sexual assault against women, but she also reportedly paid $380,000 to actor Jimmy Bennett who alleged she had sex with him in 2013 when he was 17, and thus underage.
Argento denies the allegations and has said she only gave Bennett money to help him out during a difficult period.
Several US media have reported that the actress halted payments to Bennett and is mulling legal action.
The Italian television producers said Argento would appear in early “X Factor” episodes that had already been filmed this year but would not be in a subsequent elimination round so as not to “distract attention”.
Source: AFP
