The Italian actress made headlines around the world last week, after she was accused of sexually assaulting Jimmy Bennett, a former child actor and musician.
- Aug 28, 2018
AceShowbiz - Asia Argento has reportedly been sacked from her role as a judge on the Italian version of The X Factor.
The Italian actress made headlines around the world last week, ends August 26 after editors at The New York Times published a report alleging that she had agreed to pay $380,000 (£296,000) to Jimmy Bennett, a former child actor and musician, who alleged he'd had a sexual encounter with her when he was 17.
Argento has since admitted to agreeing to the payout, which she has claimed was organised by her boyfriend, late chef Anthony Bourdain, but has denied having sex with Bennett, now 22.
Now, sources have confirmed to Variety that Sky Italia and FremantleMedia Italia executives have decided to drop the xXx star from the live shows portion of the talent contest - which are due to begin in October. However, they are yet to issue an official statement.
The 42-year-old will still apparently appear in the first seven episodes documenting initial auditions - in which competitors try out to gain one of 12 slots in the live shows. These begin airing on 6 September.
According to Italian press reports, Argento is likely to be replaced on the judging panel by her ex-partner, Italian popstar Morgan.
Bennett, who played Argento's son in the 2004 movie The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, claimed he and the actress met up for a reunion in May 2013 at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey, California, where she took him to her hotel room, gave him alcohol and then "kissed him, pushed him back on the bed, removed his pants and performed oral sex".
In a statement obtained by journalist Yashar Ali, she denied ever having "any sexual relationship" with Bennett and claimed Bourdain had urged her to agree to a settlement to end any "long-standing persecution".
Bennett has since issued his own public statement, in which he claimed he initially dealt with the matter privately but his "trauma" from the encounter resurfaced when Argento herself came out as a sexual assault victim - alleging that shamed movie mogul Harvey Weinstein raped her. Weinstein denies any allegations of non-consensual sex.
Detectives from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department want to talk to Bennett about his claims of a sexual encounter, as he was considered to be a minor under California law at the time of the alleged incident.
