Asia Argento Accuses Fast And The Furious Director, Rob Cohen Of Sexual Assault

Actor Asia Argento, who has been vocal about sexual harassment in the entertainment industry and accused movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, has now made allegations against The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen. The Italian actor-director has alleged that Cohen abused her and made her drink GHB, an anaesthetic with a history of use in date rapes.

Reportedly, speaking in an interview with Italian newspaper Il Corriere Della Sera on Friday, Argento told, “It’s the first time I’m talking about Cohen. He abused me, making me drink GHB, he had a bottle of it." She added saying, "At the time, I really didn't know what it was. I woke up in the morning naked in his bed."

She further alleged that Cohen abused her while she was filming his 2002 film xXx alongside Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson.

Responding to the allegations, Cohen’s spokesperson said the accusations made by Argento were “absolutely false”. Calling it "bewildering", Cohen also said that they had an excellent working relationship during the 2002 film shooting, his spokesperson said in a statement issued to Deadline.

Meanwhile, Argento stood by her allegations and said, “I talk about it in my autobiography,” referring to her upcoming biography Anatomy of a Wild Heart, which will be out in Italy from January 26. 

Argento, in 2017, became one of the most outspoken voices against  Weinstein and led the #MeToo Movement in Hollywood alongside Rose McGowan. Cohen, on the other hand, was accused in a 2019 Huffington Post report of allegedly sexually assaulting an unnamed woman while she was unconscious. The filmmaker's daughter Valkyrie Weather had also accused him of molesting her when she was a child.

In 2018, Argento was also accused of sexual assault by her former co-star Jimmy Bennett when he was 17 and she was 37. Argento and Bennett appeared together in the 2004 movie The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things. She had denied the claims and said that she had a consensual sexual relationship with him.