Asia Argento claims 'xXx' director Rob Cohen drugged and raped her

Asia Argento is accusing "Fast And The Furious" director Rob Cohen of sexual assault following an incident in early 2000 when she found herself naked in his bed.

The actress, who is one of the leading advocates of the #MeToo movement, opened up for the first time about the alleged assault in an interview with Italian publication Il Corriere della Sera. She said the director took advantage of her after she passed out from drinking the "date-rape" drug GHB or Gamma Hydroxybutyrate (C4H8O3), made for the purpose of getting high.

"It's the first time I'm talking about Cohen. He abused me, making me drink GHB, he had a bottle of it," Argento told the publication.

She alleged that the assault happened when she filmed the 2002 "xXx" with Cohen. She explained that at the time she "really didn't know" what GHB was. But she found herself naked in his bed when she woke up in the morning. Argento later confirmed her accusation in a text sent to Variety.

"I confirm what [was] reported by Corriere. I talk about it in my autobiography," the 45-year-old Italian actress said in reference to her book "Anatomy of a Wild Heart." Her autobiography hits bookshelves in Italy later this month.

Argento admitted that at first, she was not quite certain what had happened between her and Cohen. It was only after she learned more about GHB that she realised that he sexually assaulted her.

"I discovered later, speaking with a friend who opened my eyes about that substance," she shared.

As to why it took her many years to come forward with her accusation, she said it was because she "did not want to create another storm." But deemed now is the right time after a couple of women spoke up against the director including his daughter Valkyrie Weather, in 2019. He reportedly assaulted one of the women while she was unconscious. Weather, on the other hand, claimed he molested her when she was a child.

Cohen has yet to comment on Argento's accusation. But his representative called it "absolutely false" and "bewildering, especially given what has been reported about her in recent years." The spokesperson added that they "had an excellent working relationship" and the director "considered her a friend."