Actor Asia Argento has made strong sexual assault allegations against “Fast and the Furious” director Rob Cohen.
On Sunday, Argento confirmed her allegations during an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Corriere Della Sera, reports Variety.
Argento has previously been one of the loudest voices when it comes to the fight against sexual harassment in the industry, and is one of the earlier voices that spoke up about Harvey Weinstein.
She said this was the first time she was speaking out about Cohen. “He abused me, making me drink GHB, he had a bottle of it,” she said. GHB or Gamma-hydroxybutyric acid is a type of anaesthetic commonly used as a date rape drug.
Argento added that she did not publicly speak about the allegations in the past due to several reasons. She said she was primarily unsure of what was happening during the harassment. She realized that she had been drugged later on, after speaking to a friend.
“At the time, I really didn’t know what it was. I woke up in the morning naked in his bed,” Argento added. She mentioned that the assault allegedly occurred during the filming of “xXx”, a Cohen-directed action movie starring Samuel L Jackson and Vin Diesel from 2002.
Argento writes about her accusations and experiences with Cohen in her autobiography titled “Anatomy of a Wild Heart”, which was released Tuesday in Italy.
Once she realized what had happened to her, Argento says that she did not want to create controversy. Two other women have come out to speak against Cohen in recent times, she added, which gave her the confidence to voice her own accusations.
This is not the first time Rob Cohen has been accused of sexual misconduct. In 2019, Cohen faced similar allegations from an anonymous victim. The victim alleged that he had sexually assaulted her during a business meeting in Manhattan, New York, US, when working on a TV show.
Cohen’s own daughter, Valkyrie Weather, has also accused the director of molestation. Valkyrie also mentioned that Cohen would often visit sexual workers in shooting locations when she was younger. Cohen has rejected these accusations.
“Mr Cohen categorically denies Asia Argento’s accusation of assault against him as absolutely false,” a spokesperson for Cohen told AFP.
“When they worked together, they had an excellent working relationship and Mr Cohen considered her a friend, so this claim dating back to 2002 is bewildering, especially given what has been reported about her in recent years.” the spokesperson added.
Argento is a #MeToo figurehead from when she voiced her thoughts against Harvey Weinstein. She was accused of sexual assault by actor Jimmy Bennett. The case was resolved later after her partner Anthony Bourdain made a payment of $380,000 to Bennett. Argento denied the accusations made against her.
