Asia Argento’s film features a husky man who begs Argento’s character to give him a massage to help him relax.
An Italian film actress and director used her alleged sexual assault at the hands of Harvey Weinstein as inspiration in one of her movies.
Asia Argento came forward in a Tuesday exposé by the New Yorker with a disturbing story about the embattled filmmaker forcibly performing oral sex on her in a French hotel room in 1997.
Three years later, she channeled her emotions into a film, «Scarlet Diva,» which featured a character based on Weinstein and a scene that reenacted their alleged encounter.
Argento shared a brief clip of the film on Twitter Tuesday, and the skeevy character’s actions appear to be lifted straight from the tale she recounted to Ronan Farrow for the shocking exposé.
HEAR IT: Harvey Weinstein caught on tape with sexual accuser
The actress, who was 21 at the time, alleges that Weinstein’s production company Miramax invited her to a party in a hotel room on the French Riviera. When she arrived, she says she found no party and an empty hotel room — save for Weinstein, who was dressed in a bathrobe and holding a bottle of lotion.
«He asks me to give him a massage. I was like, ‘Look, man, I am no f——g fool,'» she said. «But looking back, I am a f——g fool. And I am still trying to come to grips with what happened.»
Based on Argento’s recollection, following her reluctant «yes» to the massage, Weinstein allegedly pulled up her skirt, forced her legs apart and performed oral sex on her, despite her pleas for him to stop.
«I said, ‘No, no, no’… It’s twisted. A big fat man wanting to eat you. It’s a scary fairy tale,» she said.
Ben Affleck condemns Harvey Weinstein amid sexual assault scandal
The scene in «Scarlet Diva,» a film that Argento wrote, directed and starred in, features a similarly husky character, Mr. Paar, who begs Argento’s Anna to give him a massage to help him relax. Despite her refusal, he insists — and the situation eventually escalates into Paar asking her to perform oral sex on him.
Argento said that following the film’s release in 2000, people would frequently ask her about Weinstein «because of the scene in the movie» — including Weinstein himself.
The actress said that Weinstein saw the film and appeared to acknowledge that Paar was based on him, quipping, «Ha, ha, very funny,» and apologizing for the real-life incident.
Despite calling their initial encounter a «nightmare,» Argento said Weinstein continued to reach out to her, and eventually the two grew close, engaging in consensual sexual encounters multiple times over five years.
Jolie, Paltrow accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment
«I felt I had to because I had (a) movie coming out and I didn’t want to anger him,» she said, adding that she thought he’d ruin her career if she denied his advances.
Argento is currently dating «Parts Unknown» star Anthony Bourdain. The television personality has been a vocal supporter of his girlfriend — and an adamant critic of Weinstein — since the New York Times last week broke the initial story revealing his years of alleged unwanted sexual advances.
«I am proud and honored to know you,» he wrote to Argento on Twitter. «You just did the hardest thing in the world.»
«Absolute b——t. Evil is evil and always has been. Never in my lifetime would his behavior be acceptable,» he added.
