Italian actress and filmmaker Asia Argento has backed out of curating a Dutch music festival after a young actor accused her of sexual assault.
Organizers of the Le Guess Who? festival said in a statement Wednesday that "due to the volatile nature of the accusations surrounding Ms. Argento, she has chosen to withdraw from her curatorship of this year's edition, while these issues remain open."
Argento, a prominent #MeToo activist, was one of the curators of the festival, which takes place in the city of Utrecht in November.
Actor Jimmy Bennett claimed Argento, then 37, sexually assaulted him when he was 17 in 2013.
Argento denied ever having a sexual relationship with Bennett, whom she agreed to pay $380,000 in a settlement.
Read the festival's statement in full below:
Due to the volatile nature of the accusations surrounding Ms. Argento, she has chosen to withdraw from her curatorship of this year's edition, while these issues remain open. Le Guess Who? supports her decision, as we consider it our responsibility to represent, to the best of our ability, the interests and integrity of all artists involved with our organization, and we strive to do this with sensitivity and respect.
Le Guess Who? still supports all curated artists and their artistic output, and intends to keep all these artists involved within the general program for the 2018 edition.
