Rain Dove Breaks Silence on Asia Argento Scandal

After Rose McGowan claimed fellow #MeToo icon Asia Argento admitted having sex with an underage actor, McGowan's partner, Rain Dove, confirmed the claims on Wednesday.

Dove, a gender-nonconforming model, was introduced to Argento via McGowan and the two became friends. Dove says they received text messages from Argento about Jimmy Bennett, the actor she allegedly had sex with when he was not a legal adult. The disturbing texts prompted Dove to go to the police.

In a lengthy statement released Wednesday on Twitter, Dove stated: "I can confirm that the text messages are between Asia Argento and myself. When I reported them to police I remained silent socially because I didn't wish to be part of the narrative or distract from the path to justice."

For Dove, the path of justice may mean punishment for the Italian actress:

"While the conflict may feel murky- the situation is cut and dry. An individual admitted to sexual engagement with a minor (according to the age stated by California) which is an illegal act that can qualify as statutory rape. As well as such they admitted to receiving continued nude images without reporting/blocking the account/written rejection/or action," wrote Dove, who did not use gendered pronouns in their statement when referring to Argento."

When the individual made it clear that they were not going to be honest about their engagement, I turned in the materials that may contribute towards an honest investigation. All victims deserve justice. Justice can rarely exist without honesty. In a sexual assault case it is important to support and believe the victim - while also allowing for due process."

The statement accuses Argento of not having "the intention to do whats necessary to rectify a situation" and that when she made a statement to The New York Times about her relationship with Jimmy Bennett, "it became clear [Argento was] not going to follow their own ethics" as a #MeToo advocate. Dove felt Argento was "dismissive of the victim" and utilized "the guilt power of the opinion of their deceased former partner Anthony Bourdain."

Dove admits going to police was difficult because McGowan had grown close to Argento. They discussed the issue before Dove went to authorities.

Finally, Dove asks that the public separate the accusations against Argento from Argento's own accusation that disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein raped her. "[Argento's] choice to lie to the NYT does not mean that they are lying about HW," the model wrote.

Read the full statement below.