Asia Argento Axed From Show in Wake of Accusations

Asia Argento, once one of the most outspoken voices in the #MeToo movement against sexual assault in Hollywood and beyond, has lost a job amid allegations she had sex with a 17-year-old actor. Per the Hollywood Reporter, the actress has been nixed from the judges' panel on X Factor Italy following a New York Times story that the 42-year-old settled a legal notice of intent to sue filed by Jimmy Bennett, who's now 22, for $380,000. That was shortly after she said last October that movie mogul Harvey Weinstein raped her. Per THR, reports of her firing first emerged over the weekend in Italian newspapers.

Per Variety, Sky Italia and FremantleMedia Italia made the decision to axe Argento from the live portion of the show. However, audiences will still see her in initial episodes that have already been filmed. Argento will still be among the judges when the show starts airing Sept. 6. By then, her replacement judge is scheduled to have been announced and will replace Argento beginning Oct. 25. Meanwhile, the LAPD says it's looking into Bennett's allegations Argento had sex with him at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Marina del Rey, Calif., in 2013 when he was 17. The age of consent in California is 18. Argento has denied having sex with Bennett while admitting she did pay him the $380,000. (More #MeToo stories.)