Rose McGowan, Patricia Arquette and Ellen Pompeo are shocked that Italian public condemned the victim instead of the rapist.
- Oct 22, 2017
AceShowbiz - Asia Argento was forced to leave her home country of Italy after she revealed that she was raped by Harvey Weinstein. The "xXx" actress was one of the first stars to speak out against the disgraced movie honcho.
While she was praised by Hollywood and her voice led numerous other women to come forward with their own stories of sexual harassment at the hands of Weinstein, Argento was condemned, mocked and shamed by the public in Italy.
Many Hollywood stars were shocked that the Italian media chose to side with Weinstein. "Godd**n you monsters in Italy. Godd**n you HW. Godd**n you who knew and did nothing," tweeted Rose McGowan who's also among Weinstein's victims.
Patricia Arquette wrote on her own Twitter, "#Italy what are you doing??" Ellen Pompeo posted, "This is heartbreaking. I hope the Italian women see this as the opportunity it is... thank @AsiaArgento ..stand up for her & yourselves."
After fleeing Italy, Argento took refuge in Germany to avoid the "climate of tension" and "victim blaming" after the Weinstein scandal blew up. "Italy," the 42-year-old actress said, "is far behind the rest of the world in its view of women."
The sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein spanned decades. His victims included Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cara Delevingne, Kate Beckinsale and Lupita Nyong'o. Rumor has it, Fabrizio Lombardo who ran Miramax's Italian office procured women for the big boss.
An Italian writer called what Weinstein did to those actresses "prostitution, not rape," an Italian politician believed that it was Argento who actually assaulted the movie honcho, while a journalist said that the actress was not physically harmed so it's not a big deal.
After Weinstein fell from his grace, more predatory figures in Hollywood showbiz were exposed. Chris Savino was fired by Nickelodeon, Roy Price resigned from Amazon, and Tyler Grasham was terminated from Agency of the Performing Arts due to sexual harassment allegations. FOX News also parted ways with Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly and Eric Bolling due to similar issues earlier this year.
