How the #MeToo movement is growing up

Almost one year into its existence, the #MeToo movement’s leaders are still working to turn outcry into action. They hit a potential setback this week when Italian actress and filmmaker Asia Argento, one of the first public faces of the movement, faced accusations that she sexually assaulted a 17-year-old boy in 2013.

Argento told the New Yorker last fall that Harvey Weinstein raped her in 1997 at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Numerous women have accused Weinstein of preying on them at the annual film fest over the years—so much that the event’s organizers this year set up a hotline for victims of sexual abuse.

On Sunday, The New York Times reported that Argento paid actor Jimmy Bennett $380,000 over a sexual encounter they had in a California hotel room. Bennett played Argento’s son in the 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Else, a film about an abusive young mother.

Argento’s then-boyfriend Anthony Bourdain, the well-known chef and travel documentarian who committed suicide in June, paid Bennett last year, but Argento denies having a sexual relationship with him. She said Bourdain made the payment so that “we would no longer suffer any intrusions in our life.”

Bennett said in a statement this week he delayed coming forward about the encounter because he “didn’t think that people would understand the event that took place from the eyes of a teenage boy.”

Weinstein pounced on the news, and his attorney issued a statement saying “fundamental dishonesty” was in danger of prevailing in his case: “The sheer duplicity of [Argento’s] conduct is quite extraordinary and should demonstrate to everyone how poorly the allegations against Mr. Weinstein were actually vetted.”

Weinstein’s alleged victims won a victory against him last week when a New York judge ruled one of his accusers can sue him under a federal sex-trafficking law, paving the way for another similar suit filed this week.

Plaintiff Kadian Noble accuses Weinstein of sexually assaulting her at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival after inviting her to a hotel room, ostensibly to discuss her career. U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet ruled this week that Noble could sue Weinstein under a federal sex-trafficking law that prohibits Americans from forcing anyone into a “commercial sex act.”

Weinstein’s attorneys argued the encounter with Noble didn’t meet the criteria of the law because nothing of value was exchanged. The judge disagreed: “For an aspiring actress, meeting a world-renowned film producer carries value, in and of itself. The opportunity, moreover, for the actress to sit down with that producer in a private meeting to review her film reel and discuss a promised film role carries value that is career-making and life-changing.”

Another foreign actress sued Weinstein under the same law Monday for an alleged 2006 assault, also at Cannes. The German actress, using the pseudonym Emma Loman, said she went to Weinstein’s hotel suite to discuss a movie role, but instead he overpowered and raped her. Loman also claimed Weinstein told her not to speak of the assault.

The court ruling for Noble and the revelations about Argento’s alleged conduct are both incremental steps along the longer path to ensuring the #MeToo movement affects lasting change, such as better legal avenues for justice and a stronger voice for victims who don’t fit the expected profile, especially children. The movement’s leaders thanked Bennett for coming forward this week and said accountability remains their main goal.

“We hold any and every abuser accountable, regardless of their gender, race, socio-economic status, public visibility or popularity,” actress Ashley Judd said on Twitter. “Sexual violence is wrong, full stop.”

One for the books

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson announced this week they will face off in a pay-per-view golf match this fall. Though it’s exciting to see two of the sport’s greatest players go head-to-head, this game is really all about the green—cash, that is. The event coincides with the expansion of legal sports betting in many states, and sportsbooks are already setting odds (Woods is the favorite).

Mickelson’s habit of betting on his practice rounds is well-documented, so it’s no wonder he jumped at this chance to play a gambler’s dream round of golf. The victor of “The Match,” scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend in Las Vegas, will win $9 million. Coincidentally, the online casino PlaySugarHouse.com started accepting sports bets Thursday under the license of the Golden Nugget casino in Atlantic City, N.J. With sports betting out in the open, expect to see a lot more exhibition-style events like this one. —L.L.

City in mourning

Funeral activities for Aretha Franklin begin Tuesday with two days of public viewing at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit. Stevie Wonder, Jennifer Hudson, Faith Hill, Marvin Sapp, the Clark Sisters, and many more are scheduled to perform at a funeral service for family and friends scheduled for Aug. 31, and Detroit is hosting a public concert in her honor Thursday at Chene Park.

Since Franklin’s death last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill to award the Queen of Soul with the Congressional Gold Medal. Also in the past week, Franklin’s four sons declared their interests in her estate, which will go through the lengthy public probate process since the singer did not leave a will when she died, according to the Detroit Free Press. —L.L.

Reality TV pioneer dies

Robin Leach, a celebrity columnist and television host of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, has died. He was 76.

A London native, Leach had a storied career as a journalist that began when he was a teenager writing for the local newspaper. He moved to the United States in 1962 and contributed to national magazines and the New York Daily News. Lifestyles ran from 1984 to 1995 and focused on celebrities’ luxurious homes and vacations, with Leach closing each program with a toast to his viewers, “Champagne wishes and caviar dreams.”

The Las Vegas Review-Journal noted that show opened the door for future celebrity-centric reality shows, including Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Leach had been hospitalized since November, when he had a stroke in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. He suffered a second stroke Monday and died in his sleep Thursday night, the Review-Journal reported. —L.L.

Song of the South

Ed King, the lead guitarist for Lynyrd Skynyrd who co-wrote the band’s iconic hit “Sweet Home Alabama,” died Wednesday. He was 68. Ironically, King was from California—none of the band members who wrote the song were from Alabama, but they said it captured their love for the South. —L.L.