Asia Argento was seen with one of her closest friends and biggest supporters this week in Italy.
The actress, 42, was seen last Saturday leaving her home in Rome and being driven to a private residence with director Giovanni Veronesi.
Veronesi, 56, who is engaged to Italian star Valeria Solarino, 39, then got out of the car with Argento and went inside, with the pair not emerging again until the next morning when he drove her home.
It is unclear what the pair were doing and whether their rime together was professional or personal, as Veronesi has been bust shooting a new film, which Argento is free to appear in given her exit from X Factor.
There is absolutely nothing to suggest the two are romantically linked, given Veronesi’s engagement and the fact that he is like a big brother to the actress.
The outting came just a few days before Rose McGowan gave an interview saying that she and Argento no longer speak.
Pals: Asia Argento was seen leaving her home in Rome and being driven to a private residence with director Giovanni Veronesi (above last weekend)
There is absolutely nothing to suggest the two are romantically linked, given Veronesi’s engagement and the fact that he is like a big brother to the actress
Argento was starring in Veronesi’s film Viola Kisses Everybody when she was allegedly assaulted by Harvey Weinstein
Argento was starring in Veronesi’s film Viola Kisses Everybody when she was allegedly assaulted by Harvey Weinstein.
The actress received little support from Italian actors or the public in that country at the time, but that did not stop Veronesi from becoming one of her biggest defenders.
At one point he tweeted: ‘What the f*** are you doing? It’s not even a question @AsiaArgento just defended it. There is no debate. No doubt.’
Veronesi’s fiancee also quickly jumped to Argentos’ defense with a post on Instagram.
The post shows a photo of an irate Argento flipping the bird. It was taken in 2013 during the Cannes film festival.
Solarino appeared to be sending a message to her fellow countrymen and women over their lack of support for Argento.
Solarino’s caption, which was written in Italian, read: ‘We have reversed the facts so as not to see them.
‘Violence, stupidity, ignorance, the superficiality of comments that I read or listen to leave me speechless.’
Veronesi’s fiancee also quickly jumped to Argentos’ defense with a post on Instagram. The post shows a photo of an irate Argento flipping the bird. It was taken in 2013 during the Cannes film festival. The Instagram post was written last October
Solarino then relayed a message from Argento which read: ‘This middle finger is for those Italians – I repeat: Italians, who accuse me of having sought the violence suffered by a girl because I have not run away and because I have not reported before.
‘It’s the fault of people like you if women are afraid to tell the truth.
‘From the rest of the world I receive only words of solidarity and comfort, in my country I am called a b****.
‘Shame on you, everyone. You are monsters.’
The brave confession by Argento made her a face for the #MeToo movement, where she grew closer to McGowan.
The two have drifted apart however in the wake of Argento’s sex scandal.
‘She’s done a lot of good for the movement, and worked really hard for it. I don’t think it [the allegations] discredits the work she’s done, but it probably will going forward,’ McGowan told The Telegraph.
‘I just don’t know how someone picks up their life from where Asia is now.’
The actress, who had been absent from social media for the past two months, returned to Twitter last week after model Rain Dove Dubilewski, 27, criticized Argento’s attorney for refusing to acknowledge that she had a sexual relationship with actor Jimmy Bennett when the boy was underage.
‘I will 100% help support You through this process with whatever resources I have that can assist the healing necessary – but You need to be honest. I can’t help a dishonest being,’ wrote Dove.
Argento posted this photo on her Instagram account early Saturday morning
Argento responded by firing back: ‘Very funny coming from a sick pathological liar like you, who made money out of me by selling selected text messages in order to portray me for something I am not.’
Her return to social media came at the same time X Factor Italia formally announced that Argento would appear only in the first half of the show’s new season, and be replaced for the live episodes when they air later this year.
The Italian star, 42, also used her return to Twitter to attack Dove for information they relayed regarding the death of Anthony Bourdain.
It was Dove’s texts with Argento that confirmed the actress had sexual relations with Bennett in a California hotel room back in 2014, more than a decade after the actress first worked with the boy at the age of 6 in her film adaptation of JT Leroy’s The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things.
Argento, who was one of the first women to publicly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, initially lied about her encounter with Bennett following a New York Times report that revealed the young man had received a $380,000 payment from the actress’ partner Anthony Bourdain when he threatened to file a $7.5 million lawsuit.
Just hours after she denied ever having sex with Bennett, TMZ published a text exchange between Dove and with Argento, confirming most of the Times report.
Argento and her lawyer are now claiming that she was the victim, and Bennett sexually assaulted her that day in the hotel.
Argento backers: He defended her when she came out with her claims against Weinstein as did his fiancee Valeria Solarino (above in 2016 with Veronesi)
Split: Rose McGowan recently revealed that her and Argento do not speak
Dove voiced their opinion on this latest version of events from Argento by writing in one tweet: ‘NO Jimmy Bennet didn’t rape Asia. We must hold all beings to the truth here. Don’t need to kno the whole story but what we do know should b truthful.’
Argento then took aim at Dove for making claims about the death of Bourdain.
She posted a handful of cryptic text exchanges she had with the model that seem to suggest they both believe the celebrity chef did not take his own life.
‘Why did you tell me you knew the truth about my partner’s death and pretended to be some sort of 007? You wrote me hundreds of lies, for over a month. I have all the text messages. Now it’s time for YOU to tell the truth, if you are capable. Your ex calls you a pathological liar,’ wrote Argento.
She followed that up by stating: ‘Then tell me why did you invent that articulate, humongous, gross lie about you and your NETWORK knowing “the truth” about Anthony’s death?’
Dove, who engaged with Argento throughout her attack, replied: ‘That wasn’t a lie. We did a lot of great work including – which You saw yourself- the toxicology report which French authorities dumbed down to the media. And then later on redacted and said “yeah there was alcohol”. And I’m not 007. I’m just part of a common research team.’
Argento then posted a text conversation she had with Dove about documents concerning Bourdain’s death that she hoped to get to a journalist for an investigative piece about the Emmy winner.
In another exchange shared by Argento, Dove writes about a ‘network’ being involved in Bourdain’s death and how ‘dangerous’ it was to be investigating the matter.
They also claim to have see documents and exchanges between unknown parties, prompting Argento to tweet: ‘Go tell that to @CNN. What you did (if you did it! I highly doubt it) is criminal.’
Dove responded: ‘Alright love. But You are just deflecting. I’ll own my own path it’ll clearly be a fun week. But You still must own urs. 100%. You had a sexual dynamic w Jimmy Bennett. Whether u felt used or extorted or that ur “friend” was rude the engagement still happened. & he didn’t rape u.’
The brave confession by Argento made her a face for the #MeToo movement, where she grew closer to McGowan
Argento did not dispute Dove’s claims in that tweet, and instead accused the model of deflecting, before adding: ‘Don’t call me love. All that is left of your answers is treachery and deceit.’
She later closed out her attack by writing: ‘You can’t help yourself but keep lying, can you? You never sent me or showed me any documents. And remember, there was a witness.’
Dove went offline at the exact same time, but not before posting a few final remarks.
‘Ok, through the gates of Hell I walk willingly with You if only for the truth to see the light of the fire,’ said the model to Argento in one post.
Dove then said in a final tweet: ‘Fair for U to be angry- U are trapped and want to take everything down with U. I am not afraid of what is coming. But the truth still remains You slept w Jimmy Bennett. You lied when You demand others accused of sexual assault to be honest. This hurts victims’ voices everywhere.’
The model is a new acquaintance of Argento, whom she met through McGowan.
Dove started dating the actress earlier this year in the wake of McGowan’s rage-filled rant at a transgender woman at a New York City book signing for her memoir Brave that many found to be transphobic.
In the wake of that incident, Dove offered to help the actress repair her image.
Dove said that she released the texts with McGowan’s blessing, and also sent her exchanges with the actress to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.