Asia Argento, an Italian actress, singer, and director, accused filmmaker Rob Cohen, director of movies such as The Fast and the Furious, DragonHeart, and Alex Cross, of sexual assault.
During an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, Asia claimed that Rob made her drink GHB, an anesthetic drug associated with sex attacks. She further added saying; she did not know what it was at that time, and when Asia woke up, she found herself naked in Rob’s bed.
Asia also told Variety that she had discussed the assault in her upcoming memoir, Anatomy of a Wild Heart, published on 26th January 2021 in Italy.
The actress alleged that the incident took place in 2002 while filming the Cohen-directed xXx, which also stars Vin Diesel and Samuel L. Jackson.
On the talk show Verissimo, Asia also talked about the allegations and said she did not come forward before because she was not sure what happened, and she also did not want to create another storm.
However, in 2019, an anonymous accuser told the HuffPost that Rob Cohen raped her in 2015 in a hotel room where she was lying unconscious.
Rob Cohen was also accused of sexual assault by his daughter Valkyrie Weather and mentioned that he took her to sex workers while underage.
Asia said that since two women came forward against Rob, she felt encouraged to speak the truth.
Regarding the allegation made by Asia, a spokesperson for Rob Cohen released a statement saying,
“Mr. Cohen categorically denies Asia Argento’s accusation of assault against him as absolutely false. 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.”
In 2017, Asia Argento was one of the first to go public, telling the New Yorker and Ronan Farrow that she was assaulted and convicted rapist and disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
During the party's allegation and accusation, one of the comments appeared to allude to allegations. In August 2018, Asia Argento was accused of sexually assaulting fellow actor Jimmy Bennett. Jimmy claimed that the incident took place when he was only 17.
Asia denied the allegation and claimed they did not have sexual interactions but retracted within a week and admitted to having sex. However, she also claimed that she did not know his age at the time. Asia later reportedly paid him $380,000 in ‘hush’ money.
