American feminist leaders fall to the altar: secretly pay huge sealing fees after being exposed to sexually assaulting male actors

Elsa Aquido

As one of the first Hollywood actresses to publicly testify against Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault, Elsa Aquido is widely respected for her bravery. Today, she is in an awkward situation.

The New York Times disclosed on the 19th that after several months of accusations against Harvey Weinstein's sexual assault charges, Akedo secretly reached a deal with an actor who accused her of sexual assault, trying to use $380,000 to silence the actor.

And in October, Italian actress and filmmaker Asia Argento claimed in a new Yorker magazine story that she had been sexually assaulted by harvey Weinstein, a prominent Hollywood producer.

From "forgetting the year" to tearing up the face

Citing a lawyer's record, the New York Times shows that young actor and musician Jimmy Bennett accused Mr. Zeng of sexually assaulting him in 2013. Bennett was 17 years and two months old at the time, Aquido was 37 at the time, and the legal age for sex in California was 18.

The two first met as a mother and son in the 2004 film Chocolate Elvis Presley. The film depicts the deformed relationship between a drug-addicted prostitute played by Aquido and his son played by Bennett. In the film, the mother disguises her son as a girl to attract men, and eventually the boy escapes the fate of being raped.

The New York Times said it had received an encrypted email from an unknown source that included a bed-based selfie taken on May 9, 2013. Later, as part of an agreement between the two parties, Bennett gave the photo and copyright to Aguido, now 42. Three people who learned of the incident said the contents of the email were credible.

The contents of the email disclosure show that during Aquido's meeting with Bennett on May 9, 2015, Aquido opened up the relatives who had come to carry Bennett. She gave Bennett a glass of wine and showed him the words he had written on hotel letter paper. Bennett was then kissed, throwing him on the bed, and the two had sex. Aguidore later asked Bennett to photograph the two men.

There was also some content in Aquido's "photo wall" account that day, and before the meeting began, Agido posted, "Waiting for my son who has not been seen for a long time, my baby!" Later in the day, Aquido posted again, "The happiest day, I was reunited with Bennett." Bennett will be starring in my next film and it's great to poach him! ”

Aquido's "wall of photographs" record, along with three other photographs, is cited in Bennett's letter of intent to sue, which was taken by Bennett and can be seen lying naked.

The two had lunch that day, and Bennett returned to his parents' home in Orange County. According to his account, on the way home, he could not help but feel confused, embarrassed and ashamed. But a month later, on June 8, Bennett tweeted to Aquido saying" "Miss you, Mom!" Attached was a photograph of the engraved bracelet that Archido had given him to commemorate the duo's film.

Quietly pay a sealing fee of $380,000

Bennett was reportedly displeased after the events involving Weinstein were revealed in October and demanded $3.5 million in damages from Agido, who promised only $380,000. The first payment of $200,000 was recorded in April 2018, when Aquido's lawyers said the money would help Bennett not to go into such misfortunes again and avoid being used for others to affect his personal future.

Under the agreement between the two, both reserved the right to talk about the relationship. Goldberg, an attorney for Agido, explained that because California law does not allow any private confidentiality agreements that contain such allegations, unless lawyers in New York are elected and protected by New York law. Fearing that confidentiality agreements would be contrary to their previous statements about the risks of such agreements, Aquido's side chose non-confidentiality agreements in the end.

However, under the agreement, while Bennett theoretically had the right to disclose the relationship to the public, Bennett could not claim additional damages, could not file a lawsuit, could not disclose relevant photographs or publicly denigrate Aquido.

According to Bennett's lawyers, after co-starring in the film in 2004, Archidore and Bennett have maintained an uninterrupted connection, acting as Bennett's life mentor. The two have also been referred to as mother and son in their interactions on social media.

The New York Times said Aquido had had difficulty getting in touch recently, and his lawyer declined to comment. Bennett also declined the interview request, with Bennett's lawyer saying last Monday, "We understand the expectations of the media community, but the public needs time to digest, and our clients need to guarantee their own time and space." Bennett needs more than a day to prepare for the response, during which time he hopes to be understood and respected. ”

It is unclear whether Aguido and Bennett have communicated on the content of the compensation, and the relationship between the two seems to be good. On July 17, Aquido liked a selfie on Bennett's Ins account, which Bennett had previously cleared out.

Anti-sexual harassment to being accused of sexual harassment

Weinstein, who was accused of sexual assault by Agido, was formally prosecuted 9 months after the incident fermented, but Weinstein denied 6 sexual crime charges from 3 women. Finally, after paying $1 million in bail, Weinstein was released.

Aquido's story was published in The New Yorker magazine at the time. At the Cannes Film Festival in May, Aquido recounted in his speech the rape of Weinstein in 1997 when she was 21 years old. "The film festival is his hunting ground."

Agido said her relationship with Weinstein lasted 4 years and later she expressed her helplessness in the relationship because she was afraid of provoking Weinstein. However, the sexual crime charges against Weinstein have nothing to do with Akedo, whose lawyers said that the relationship between Agido and Weinstein is a matter of mutual affection.

After the scandal over the payment of the gag fee was exposed, Mr. Agido himself was quickly condemned by many parties, the most potent of which was Mr. Weinstein's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman.

Bluffman said, "The current development fully demonstrates the hypocrisy of Aquido, who is an important promoter of slandering Weinstein." "It's especially egregious that Aquido is cleaning up his own sex scandal while rushing to the front lines of denunciation of Weinstein." Speaking of Aquido and Weinstein's sexual relationship, Bluffman said it was a relationship between two fully capable adults and lasted more than four years.

Tarana Burke denounced in a tweet that "sexual violence is about power and privilege." Even if the perpetrator is your favorite actress, activist, or professor, that doesn't change. ”

Rose McGowan, also a Vocalist for Weinstein, tweeted Monday that "I first met Aquido ten months ago and thought I had a common encounter with her." The current situation is heartbreaking, but I will continue to do it on behalf of the victims.