In a statement to The New York Times, Jimmy Bennett says;
“I did not initially speak out about my story because I chose to handle it in private with the person who wronged me. My trauma resurfaced as she came out as a victim herself.
I have not made a public statement in the past days and hours because I was ashamed and afraid to be part of the public narrative.”
“At the time I believed there was still a stigma to being in the situation as a male in our society. I didn’t think that people would understand the event that took place from the eyes of a teenage boy.
I would like to move past this event in my life, and today I choose to move forward, no longer in silence.”
Argento and Bennett were seen in bed together shirtless in a photograph which suggests the 2 had a sexual relationship, along with several text messages between Asia and a friend in which she flat-out admits she had sex with him.
The bed photo is one of 4 that Bennett, now 22 years old, took in a Marina del Rey hotel room back in 2013.
However, Argento released a statement Tuesday saying, “I have never had any sexual relationship with Bennett” but claims Bennett was litigious and made exorbitant money demands, so she settled with him for $380,000.
