ROME - Asia Argento, who last week revealed her alleged assault by Harvey Weinstein, has opened up on multiple other cases of assault and rape during the early stages of her career.

 She has spoken about an incident when she was 26 years-old, and fell victim to an older director who slipped her a rape drug and consequently assaulted and raped her while she was unconscious. Argento has been heralded as brave for supporting campaigns against this kind of assault, and has revealed her own experiences on twitter: “when an Italian director/actor pulled out his penis when I was 16 in his caravan while we talked about the “character””.

 The decision to open up about her ordeal has seen a consequence in the media’s portrayal of Weinstein. Following her allegations, and those from others, the well-known producer has been expelled from the Oscars board, and, most recently, has been ordered to return the Legion of Honour, France’s most prestigious award, by President Macron. American actress Mia Farrow, previously married to Woody Allen whose reputation has also been marred with sexual allegations, has remarked that these public denunciations mark “the end of a terrible era.”

hl