The mind boggles ...

[uwe]

... at life's wondrous tales ...

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/19/us/asia-argento-assault-jimmy-bennett.html

Just two comments:

1. Ms Argento: With all due respect, what a bigot (ooops, my mistake) hypocrite you are.

2. Little Jimmy Bennett: If  nothing worse than being on the receiving end of a blow job will rank among the troubling/crippling issues of your life, then I'm happy for you. Meanwhile, do choke on that money.

[4stringer77]

I can understand hypocrite but how is she a bigot? Btw, they also had sex.

[gearHed289]

Hollyweirdos. 

[Dave W]

What makes you think she's a bigot?

The age of consent issue is absurd (it's 16 here and in many other states). He was definitely old enough to understand consent. The real issue is whether or not it was consensual. I have my doubts. If it wasn't consensual, then she's certainly a hypocrite.

I'm not sure whether Hollywood or Washington DC is the bigger cesspool.

[westen44]

Rosanna Arquette is suggesting the New York Times article may be a set-up.  Regardless of what may or may not have happened, the fact that Bennett's income went down after the incident is at the absolute bottom of my list of things to worry about in life. 

https://ew.com/movies/2018/08/20/rose-mcgowan-asia-argento/


'

[Pilgrim]

After reading the article and the email exchanges cited, there's little doubt in my mind that both parties knew what they were doing.

[westen44]

Something else I just read got me to thinking about this even more.  The point made is a victim can later become a predator.  I once knew a woman, for instance, who got her heart broken here by her boyfriend.  She cut off all ties to everyone, abruptly moved to another state and has been there for years. She started having an affair with a married man, who incidentally was a fairly successful country music songwriter.  The point is here she was the innocent victim.  But in her new location and new role, maybe not so much.  Personally, though, it's hard for me to remember her any other way than naive and innocent.  I'd still want to know all the details if asked to give my opinion on the matter.

[uwe]

Sorry for misleading everyone with the bigot comment, I meant so say hypocrite. My German roots caught up with me, in German "bigott" translates as "scheinheilig" or "hypocritical" (do as I say, don't do as I do). "Hypocrite" just didn't crop up on my radar when I wrote that post.

Yes, victims can become offenders themselves. Child abuse especially can be a vicious circle. But this is different.

I don't believe that young Jimmy was raped or forced into sex, more likely seduced. Seduction, by definition, is not quite free will, but I would hate to see a world without it. The seduction of a 17-year-old (whether male or female) by an adult (whether male of female) is not abuse in my book.  Hell, my son was 15 when he had his first night with a 40-something who had fallen in love with him. I have yet to see any permanent damage (and he is now, at age 24, not prowling on 12-year-olds either, his girlfriends still tend to be - a little - older than him). And if your kid at 17 doesn't know whether he or she wants to have sex with an adult, then ask yourself what you did wrong as a parent.

Did Ms Argento act saintly when she seduced a 17-year-old? No, she used the tactical advantage of a person experienced with sex and she built on their previous non-sexual relationship. That is perhaps not quite the same as being bullied/coerced (as a 21-year-old) into sex by a Hollywood tycoon in a hotel room (and you date him later for some time because you think it helps your career), but it's close enough for you to perhaps think twice before leading a crusade against the guy in the hotel room.

[Pilgrim]

Nicely summed up, and agreed.

[westen44]

I agree with comments made here.  The story is still developing.  It appears public opinion is mostly against Asia Argento.  She is saying it was Anthony Bourdain who got involved in this and wanted to pay off Bennett so he would shut up.  I find this credible.  In addition to all the other problems Bourdain had to face in his troubled life, he also had to deal with this pain-in-the ass Bennett guy.  A guy who, in my opinion, was most likely never raped to begin with.  I believe the sex was consensual. 

TMZ uncovered a text Argento purportedly sent to a friend reading, "I had sex with him it felt weird. I didn't know he was a minor until the shakedown letter ... the horny kid jumped me."

"It wasn't raped but I was frozen. He was on top of me. After, he told me I had been his sexual fantasy since [he] was 12," she wrote.

[Pilgrim]

If there's any 17-year-old male who wouldn't jump at the opportunity to bed an attractive woman a few years older, I don't think I've ever met him.  That heavily colors my opinion of this situation.

[gearHed289]

I get the impression little Jimmy doesn't want to work for a living.

[uwe]

  Good point.

This is one of those (rather common) scenarios where everyone has tarnished himself/herself.

I sometimes wonder whether the big Hollywood Studios would go anywhere near a  script like The Graduate today.



Everything seems to be suffocated under a blanket of new prudery these days while at the same time porn is omnipresent.

[TBird1958]

We had the same thing here..............

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Kay_Letourneau

[uwe]

I heard about that. But if you read what happened, you just wonder if those two were not meant for each other and whether the law should have stayed out of it (otoh I think there was no way around her giving up her teaching position at that school). The vast majority of (or nearly all) 12-year-olds are not ready for a relationship, but that doesn't mean that this particular one might not be a rare exception. Biology doesn't always follow the rules man gives himself. I know that sounds very European laissez-faire, but I can't help it.

"Mary Kay Fualaau (née Schmitz, formerly Mary Kay Letourneau; born January 30, 1962) is an American former schoolteacher who pleaded guilty to two counts of felony second-degree rape of a child, her 12-year-old student, Vili Fualaau. While awaiting sentencing, she gave birth to Fualaau's child. Her plea agreement called for six months in jail, with three months suspended, and no contact with Fualaau for life. The case gained national attention.

Shortly after her three-month stint in jail, Letourneau was caught by police having sex with Fualaau in a car. Judge Linda Lau found that she was in violation of the conditions of the plea agreement, vacated her probation, and re-sentenced her to the maximum of seven years in prison. She soon gave birth to a second daughter, while in prison. She was incarcerated from 1998 to 2004.

When Letourneau was released in 2004, Fualaau, by then over 18 years old, asked the court to dissolve the no-contact order. Judge Lau complied. Letourneau and Fualaau married in May 2005, and she took his last name."

"After Letourneau's release from prison in 2004, Fualaau, then age 21, filed a motion in court, requesting a reversal of the no-contact order against Letourneau.[20] A few days later the request was granted.[32] Letourneau and Fualaau were married on May 20, 2005, in the city of Woodinville, Washington, in a ceremony at the Columbia Winery.[2] Exclusive access to the wedding was given to the television show Entertainment Tonight,[2] and photographs were released through other media outlets. Letourneau said she planned to have another child and return to the teaching profession and indicated that by law she was permitted to teach at private schools and community colleges.[33]

Letourneau and her husband were the DJ and hosts for three "Hot for Teacher Night" promotions at a Seattle night club.[34][35] During an Inside Edition interview, Fualaau said, "I'm not a victim. I'm not ashamed of being a father. I'm not ashamed of being in love with Mary Kay."[36] Attorney Anne Bremner, who met Letourneau in 2002 during Fualaau's civil suit, said that Letourneau considered her affair with Fualaau to be "eternal and endless". According to Bremner, "Nothing could have kept the two of them apart."[20]

On May 9, 2017, after almost 12 years of marriage, Fualaau filed for separation from Letourneau.[37] Fualaau later withdrew the separation filing, and the two are still married.[38]"

No one has yet dared make a film out of it though it is obviously script material. I find that telling. A hot potato then.

The difference between the "Mary met Vili" secenario and the one of "Asia met Jimmy" is that Mary & Vili took on the world for their love and did not budge - that is kind of romantic to me (and, after all, Vili could still be President of France, so there!  ). Asia & Jimmy otoh both soiled whatever there was between them - she by her pathetic covering-up, he by exploiting the incident years after for filthy lucre.