#MeToo advocate Asia Argento, one of the first women to accuse disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, paid off an ex-child actor who accused her of sexual misconduct, according to legal documents obtained by The New York Times.

Jimmy Bennett, who was 17 at the time of the encounter, alleges that he was assaulted by Argento in a California hotel in 2013, when the actress was 37. (The age of consent in California is 18.) Bennett’s lawyer notified Argento last November of his intention to sue for $3.5 million for emotional distress, lost wages, assault and battery – a month after she went public with her allegations against Weinstein. The Italian actress agreed to pay him $380,000.

Three people familiar with the case told the Times the documents were authentic.

USA TODAY has reached out to Argento’s representative for comment. Bennett declined comment to the Times.

Argento, 42, and Bennett, now 22, co-starred as a teenage mother and her son in the 2004 film “The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things,” which Argento directed and co-wrote. 

The actors stayed in touch on social media, and Bennett says she assaulted him when they met up on May 9, 2013, at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey, California. The documents say she gave him alcohol and pulled his pants off for oral sex and intercourse. According to the Times, Argento noted the occasion on Instagram: “Happiest day of my life reunion with @jimmymbennett xox.”

In October, the actress told The New Yorker that Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her at a hotel in France, where she was attending Cannes Film Festival in 1997. Weinstein has said their relationship was consensual.

This May, Argento gave a fiery speech about sexual assault at the closing ceremony of Cannes. “This festival was his hunting ground,” she told the black-tie crowd. “I want to make a prediction: Harvey Weinstein will never be welcomed here ever again. He will live in disgrace, shunned by a film community that once embraced him and covered up for his crimes.

“Even tonight,” she continued, “sitting among you, there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women, for behavior that does not belong in this industry, does not belong in any industry. You know who you are. But most importantly, we know who you are. And we’re not going to allow you to get away with it any longer.”

Contributing: The Associated Press and Andrea Mandell

 

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One of the most emotional moments in Jon M. Chu’s much talked-about rom-com Crazy Rich Asians almost didn’t happen. 

Luckily, the director wrote one hell of a beautiful letter to Coldplay.

Soundtracking one of the final scenes of the film, a Mandarin cover of Coldplay’s hit “Yellow,” sung by former The Voice contestant Chinese-American singer Katherine Ho, will have you in tears.

But the song almost didn’t make it into the film. In a Quartz interview, Chu said both Warner Bros. and the band were worried that although the song is not about race, the title of the song would be associated with the racial slur used against Asian people. 

“They were like, ‘Whoa, we can’t do that, what do you think people will say?’ And I told them, ‘Well, a white director couldn’t do it.’” he told Quartz.

“I wanted to take hit American songs and make them Chinese, to give audiences a sense of how we feel as Asian Americans,” he added. “That crazy blend of identities and cultures that makes up who we are. It felt to me like a critical part of what we were trying to do.”

While the studio finally gave in and approved the use of the song, Coldplay reportedly rejected Chu’s request at first. It’s not surprising, either, as the band has been accused of cultural appropriation in the past — the music video for 2012’s Rihanna-featuring “Princess of China” was slammed for stylized, generalized Asian stereotypes that weren’t necessarily related to China itself.

Coldplay’s video for their Beyonce collab, “Hymn for the Weekend,” shot in Mumbai during the Hindu festival of Holi, was also criticised for cultural appropriation, notably by the Guardian as “perpetuating hackneyed fantasies of India as an exotic playground for rich white people to explore and exploit for cultural capital and economic gain.” 

Nonetheless, Chu was determined to use the Grammy-nominated song for one of the final scenes of Crazy Rich Asians, and wrote a personal letter to Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Will Champion, Jonny Buckland, and Guy Berryman. It’s one of the most beautiful human appeals you’ll read.

Published by The Hollywood Reporter, Chu’s letter speaks to his “complicated relationship with the color yellow.”

“From being called the word in a derogatory way throughout grade school, to watching movies where they called cowardly people yellow, it’s always had a negative connotation in my life. That is, until I heard your song,” he wrote.

“For the first time in my life, it described the color in the most beautiful, magical ways I had ever heard: the color of the stars, her skin, her love. It was an incredible image of attraction and aspiration that it made me rethink my own self image.”

Chu speaks about wanting to “reclaim the color” after seeing the music video in college, writing that the song “immediately became an anthem for me and my friends and gave us a new sense of pride we never felt before.”

Wanting to impart this sense of reclamation on his audience, Chu wrote that he saw power in a recontextualization of Coldplay’s “Yellow.” 

“It will give a whole generation of Asian-Americans, and others, the same sense of pride I got when I heard your song,” he wrote. “I want all of them to have an anthem that makes them feel as beautiful as your words and melody made me feel when I needed it most.”

THR reports that Coldplay changed their minds within 24 hours.

Here’s Chu’s letter in full, and heads up, there are spoilers for Crazy Rich Asians in here:

Dear Chris, Guy, Jonny and Will,

I know it’s a bit strange, but my whole life I’ve had a complicated relationship with the color yellow. From being called the word in a derogatory way throughout grade school, to watching movies where they called cowardly people yellow, it’s always had a negative connotation in my life. That is, until I heard your song. 

For the first time in my life, it described the color in the most beautiful, magical ways I had ever heard: the color of the stars, her skin, her love. It was an incredible image of attraction and aspiration that it made me rethink my own self image. 

I remember seeing the music video in college for the first time time on TRL. The one shot with the sun rising was breathtaking for both my filmmaker and music-loving side. It immediately became an anthem for me and my friends and gave us a new sense of pride we never felt before…(even though it probably wasn’t ever your intention). We could reclaim the color for ourselves and it has stuck with me for the majority of my life.

So the reason I am writing this now, is because I am directing a film for Warner Bros. called Crazy Rich Asians (based on the best selling novel) and it is the first ALL-ASIAN cast for a Hollywood studio film in 25 years. Crazy. We were recently featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly to commemorate the fact. 

The story is a romantic comedy about a young Asian-American women (played by Constance Wu) from New York coming to terms with her cultural identity while she’s visiting her boyfriend’s mother (played by Michelle Yeoh) in Singapore. It’s a lavish, fun, romantic romp but underneath it all, there’s an intimate story of a girl becoming a woman. Learning that she’s good enough and deserves the world, no matter what she’s been taught or how she’s been treated, and ultimately that she can be proud of her mixed heritage.

The last scene of the movie shows this realisation as she heads to the airport to return home a different woman. It’s an empowering, emotional march and needs an anthem that lives up and beyond her inner triumph, which is where “Yellow” comes in. 

It would be such an honour to to use your song that gave me so much strength throughout the years, to underscore this final part of our film. And for me personally, it would complete a journey that I’ve been going through, fighting to make it in the movie business.

I know as an artist it’s always difficult to decide when it’s ok to attach your art to someone else’s — and I am sure in most instances you are inclined to say no. However, I do believe this project is special. I do believe this is a unique situation in which the first Hollywood studio film, with an All-Asian cast is not playing stereotypes or side-players, but romantic and comedic leads. It will give a whole generation of Asian-Americans, and others, the same sense of pride I got when I heard your song. I know it’s recontextualized but I think that’s what makes it powerful. I want all of them to have an anthem that makes them feel as beautiful as your words and melody made me feel when I needed it most.

Your consideration would mean so much to me and our project. 

I can show you the movie if you want to see the context, or talk to you if you have any questions. Thank you for taking the time to listen.

Much love,

Jon M. Chu

BOSTON — Give Simone Biles all the medals.

No, really.

The Olympic champion not only won her fifth title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships on Sunday night, she swept all four of the event titles. Even her “worst” event, uneven bars. Biles is the first U.S. woman to do that since Dominique Dawes in 1994.

Fast-forward a couple of months, and there’s a chance she could at least claim a medal on every event at the world championships in Doha, Qatar. That’s almost unheard of.  

Biles finished with a two-day total of 119.85, more than 6½ points ahead of Morgan Hurd — who just happens to be the reigning world champion. She’s only the second woman to win five or more U.S. titles, joining Clara Schroth Lomady, who won six in the 1940s and ‘50s.

Biles is so spectacular, it’s pretty much a given that everyone else is competing for second place when she’s around. In fact, her 2016 teammates would joke about competing in the “non-Simone division.” The talk going into the Rio Games was not whether she’d win the all-around title — that was a given — but if she could win gold on floor exercise, vault and balance beam.

She came close, winning floor and vault, but took the bronze on beam.

A medal on uneven bars was never in the cards. Oh, her bars were fine, good enough for the Americans to put her up in the unforgiving three-up, three-count format for team finals. But they weren’t good enough then to even get her into the bars final, let alone win a medal.

Now, however, they are.

While Biles took a year off after Rio to travel and enjoy the perks of being an Olympic champion, longtime coach Aimee Boorman moved to Florida. That mean Biles needed to find a new coach when she returned in November, and she began training with Laurent Landi who is as close to an uneven bars whisperer as the sport has.

MORE GYMNASTICS:

Landi coached Madison Kocian, who won a world title on uneven bars in 2015 and the silver medal in Rio.

He’s done wonders with Biles in the short time they’ve worked together. In addition to upgrading — she added two new skills during the routine and added a full twist to her dismount — Biles’ routine now looks effortless. Before, you could almost see her mind working through every skill as she did it, and it appeared similarly labored.

Now she floats from one skill right into another. Nothing is rushed, nothing is a struggle. Or, if it is, no one can tell.

Biles will have competition from the Russians, Chinese and Nina Derwael of Belgium, who just won the bars title at the European championships. Maybe even her own teammate, Riley McCusker, who scored higher than Biles on Sunday night but couldn’t beat her two-day total.

But Biles will most definitely be in the mix for a medal on uneven bars. And everywhere else.

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour. 

 

Image: Universal/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

It’s going to be a little while longer until we see the third season of Stranger Things, but when it does, expect it to hark back to Chevy Chase at his most prolific.

David Harbour, who plays Chief Jim Hopper in the series, told Variety the new episodes will be inspired by the 1985 action-comedy Fletch.

“The Duffers are so specific each year with the movies. And Fletch is one movie we get to play around and have some fun with this season, which you wouldn’t expect from Stranger Things, and you wouldn’t expect from the Spielberg universe, and you certainly wouldn’t expect from a darker season,” Harbour told the publication.

Fletch features Chase as a wisecracking newspaper reporter who is offered a large sum of money to kill a terminally-ill millionaire, but then discovers his target isn’t sick at all.

Likely to channel the character of Fletch is Jake Busey, who will play Bruce, a “journalist for The Hawkins Post, with questionable morals and a sick sense of humor,” according to a character description released by Netflix.

Given Stranger Things has made its mark with its frequent nods to popular films of the ’80s, namely The Goonies, Gremlins, Ghostbusters and The Terminator, it’s no surprise that the upcoming film looks to the hottest films of 1985’s summer.

Oh, and it’s apparently going to be summer of love for Hopper and Joyce too.

Paul Waring won his first European Tour title at his 200th attempt with victory at the Nordea Masters in Gothenburg.

The Englishman, 33, held a two-shot lead with four holes to play before playing partner Thomas Aiken birdied the last to force extra holes.

However, South Africa’s Aiken drove into the water on the first hole of the sudden-death play-off, with Waring’s par good enough to secure victory.

“I wasn’t sure this day would come in total honesty,” he told Sky Sports.

“I’m obviously ecstatic. I’ve tried so hard for many years to get to this point and it’s nice to finally get across the line and be holding the trophy.”

Waring and Aiken both shot two-under 68s to finish on 14 under par, a shot ahead of Germany’s Max Kieffer, who carded a five-under 65 in the final round.

Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen finished fourth in Sweden to move ahead of England’s Ian Poulter in the race to qualify automatically for Europe’s Ryder Cup team.

“It wasn’t easy. I felt really in control though,” said Waring.

“I’ve had a couple of operations along the way. It feels like it’s all worth it.

“I’m sure everyone back home will be absolutely thrilled for me.

“I’ve got a great team around me so this is all for them as well.”

Little girls grow up.

But a daddy’s daughter remains, it’s been said, his little girl.

So maybe that was the sentiment when Alec Baldwin, President Trump’s frequent “Saturday Night Live” impersonator, objected to a sexy shot of daughter Ireland on Instagram. This weekend, the 22-year-old model shared a sizzling shot of herself clad in cowboy boots and a black bikini, leaning forward on a motorcycle.

Dad weighs in

Ireland Baldwin captioned the photo, “Stay extra.”

The comments that followed were a lot of wows and approvals. 

It didn’t take long for her 60-year-old father to notice the photo and chime in with a succinct statement of disapproval: “No. Just … No.“

An old controversy 

Ireland is the daughter of Alec Baldwin and actress Kim Basinger. The father and daughter addressed an earlier uproar during his 2017 roast. The controversy involved a 2007 leaked tape in which he called his daughter, then 11, a “rude, thoughtless little pig.” 

“I’m here to roast this big old ham I call my father,” Ireland said at the show. “Speaking of pigs. Some of you may remember me as that thoughtless little pig you read about. That was a decade ago, and my dad and I are in a much better place now. He would never say something like that – because I’m 6-foot-2 and I would kick his (butt).

“The truth is, that whole awful period nearly killed him emotionally. I wouldn’t see my dad that upset ever again … until I showed him my first tattoo. OK, my second tattoo. I couldn’t show him where I got the first one.”

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BOSTON — Slogans and buzzwords aren’t enough to fix the mess USA Gymnastics is in.

USA Gymnastics CEO Kerry Perry finally emerged from behind the curtain Sunday, holding her first extended question-and-answer session with the media since taking over Dec. 1. But she offered nothing of substance, and if she responds to athletes’ concerns as vaguely and indirectly as she responded in the 22-minute session, the organization is in the wrong hands.

Perry talked repeatedly about forging a path forward and making sure athletes, past and present, know that USA Gymnastics is their biggest advocate. Yet when asked about the anxiety athletes and coaches have expressed over the lack of national team training camps and their dismay over the abrupt firing of the head of the women’s program, the best Perry could manage is that change is hard.

Not even a question about the criticism raised by Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast of all time and the best thing USA Gymnastics has going these days, could get Perry to divert from her talking points and offer some substance. Or show some emotion.  

“I respect her opinion, and know that as an organization, the kinds of changes that we’re making can be a little scary, can be a little daunting,” Perry said. “I want her and all of our athletes to know we have their best interests at heart.”

That’s the problem: They don’t believe that. Nobody does.

More: Biles dominates in her return to the U.S. gymnastics championships

More: No longer a teen, Biles is finding her voice at a time of crisis in sport

Look, changing the culture that allowed a predator like Larry Nassar to thrive and restoring the organization’s reputation is a Herculean task, one that will take years, if not decades, to achieve. But Perry has made it far harder than it needs to be and, worse, there’s no indication she even realizes that.

Yes, the lawsuits filed against USA Gymnastics by Nassar’s survivors limit what Perry can say and, in some respects, even do. But by ducking questions and essentially being a ghost for the last eight-plus months — she’s held three teleconferences since she was hired, and had one off-the-record session with media members at last month’s U.S. Classic — she is perpetuating the very lack of transparency that got USA Gymnastics into this crisis.

“I’ve heard talk about transparency,” said Oklahoma coach Mark Williams, who coached the men’s team at the Rio Olympics. “I’ve not seen a lot of that.”

Perry said she’s talked to athletes, parents, club owners, even survivors who have told her they’re encouraged by the changes USA Gymnastics is making. So where are they? Go to a gymnastics meet, talk to just about anyone in the sport, and all you’ll hear is how disappointed they are in Perry and the job she’s doing.

“I want more,” said Chellsie Memmel, the 2005 world champion and a member of the committee that selected Perry. “Going into it, our expectation was (she was) going to be the face of USA Gymnastics and the positive change and the positive force. So to me, that’s been a little bit disappointing, and I’d like to see more.”

There are small things Perry could say and do that would go a long way in showing she and the organization are sincere, that there is action behind all this talk of change.  

Take this week’s national championships. This would have been the perfect time to honor the Nassar survivors and promote abuse prevention. Paint teal ribbons on the podium and give T-shirts promoting an awareness group to every kid who walks through the door. Invite survivors and recognize them on the floor before Sunday night’s women’s final, or at the end, before medals are awarded.

Is USA Gymnastics doing that?  

“In terms of recognition, I hope it’s clear, and we’re going to continue to communicate that it’s clear, that we are all of our athletes’ advocates. That we are here, USA Gymnastics exists, because of our athletes,” Perry said. “Celebrating like competitions today, celebrating their success and celebrating what the sport of gymnastics does, for our athletes not just as they’re competing but beyond is really important to all of us.

“As I think of our survivors, and I’ve been asked this question a lot, what do I envision in the future, and I’ve said, I envision our survivors standing side by side with our organization and making changes as we continue down this path. That’s really important to me.”

So that’s a no on any recognition of the survivors.

“I would say that overall, we’re going to constantly recognize and make sure that our athletes know that we have their best interests in mind,” Perry said, “including our survivors.”

That’s not only non-sensical, it’s condescending.

And it’s not leadership. Certainly not the kind USA Gymnastics so desperately needs. 

***

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour. 

 

 

 

Tulcan, Ecuador – Jorge Briceno made it 1,400km across Colombia after fleeing his home in Venezuela more than week ago. After exiting Colombia on Saturday, he was just metres from the Ecuadorian town of Tulcan, before he found himself stuck with an encampment of migrants who were huddled at the border checkpoint as nightfall approached.

By midday Sunday, the number of Venezuelans in the 200-metre stretch between the Ecuadorian and Colombian borders swelled to nearly 1,000, owing to Ecuador’s decision to block them from passing through its territory unless they had valid passports. 

Briceno, like many bottle-necked migrants, left everything behind.

He quit his job, sold his motorcycle and left his family before making the journey to Peru, where friends planned to help him find a job to make enough money to bring his wife and children.

Bercino and others say returning to the poverty and violence in Venezuela isn’t an option. 

“To return is to die. If we have to die here looking for a better life for our families, then we’ll die. It’s better than dying in Venezuela [and] not doing anything,” Briceno told Al Jazeera. “We won’t return.”

‘Migration, motivated by hunger’

According to the UN, an estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled the country since 2014, when oil prices suddenly dropped. Venezuela is now suffering from hyperinflation as it continues to reel from food and medical shortages, as well a political crisis that has left much of the country polarised.

More than 4,000 Venezuelans a day passed from Colombia to Ecuador across the Rumichaca border crossing since July, according to Colombia’s migration authority.

While many South American countries offered to take those fleeing economic hardship or political persecution, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno told local media on Saturday that “everything has a limit”. He added that Venezuelans without passports “simply will not be allowed to come in”. 

The new passport rules came after Ecuador declared a state of emergency last week over the influx of migrants. 

Many Venezuelans have be unable to obtain passports, owing, in part, to the fact their country has all but stopped issuing them due to shortages of ink and paper, but also due to severe decay of its bureaucratic institutions. Those who can afford it, have paid fees and brides upwards of $2,000 to get a new passport, but for most in Venezuela, where the average monthly wage is about $1 a day, buying the official document is simply not an option.

According to Colombia’s migration authority, up to half the Venezuelans travelling through Colombia do not have a passport. Colombia has allowed Venezuelans to enter with paper ID cards instead. Until this week, Ecuador had done the same.

On Friday, Christian Kruger, Colombia’s migration chief, protested Ecuador’s decision to require passports for passage at its border.

“We can’t think that if we ask to see passports that the migration will end. When we have a migration motivated by hunger, it will not end,” he told reporters. 

“Within a few days we’re going to see a very large population in those places [along the Ecuadorian border].”

By midday on Sunday, Kruger’s prediction appeared to be right.

Hundreds had massed at the border and more were expected to arrive overnight.

‘They can’t just close the door on us’

Shivering and restless, many said they have been eating bread and crackers for a week. 

Among them was Caterene Gomez, who had spent two weeks walking and hitchhiking through Colombia to reach Ecuador on her way to Peru, where she said a cousin was waiting for her.

“I left my whole life behind,” said 32-year-old Gomez, wrapped in a blanket as she spoke. “If they say we can’t continue, we’ll just walk anyway.”

A group of several dozen Venezuelans, many of them agitated by new policy at the border, did just that, walking across the border and up the mountainous highway leading about 800km across Ecuador to Peru, suitcases in tow. Officials warn that if they try to leave Ecuador without a valid entry stamp or passport, they may be fined or detained.

UNHCR expressed concerned over the new passport rules, saying it may force more migrants to take more dangerous routes to other countries, or they may fall victim to human traffickers or armed groups.

“The magnitude of the situation really requires a regional and comprehensive approach,” said Yukiko Iriyama, UNHCR deputy representative. She told Al Jazeera that UNHCR was working with Ecuadorian authorities to arrange passage for those at the border, but an agreement had not been made yet.

Most at the border waited in limbo, saying attempting to cross Ecuador without documents was too risky and turning back to Venezuela was too expensive.

Many worry they won’t make it to Peru before next Saturday, when it too will shut its borders to those without passports.

“We need them to fix this problem,” said Miguel Romeo, 46, a former police officer from San Felipe, Venezuela.

“They can’t close the door on us.”

Former world number one Novak Djokovic became the first player to win all nine Masters 1,000 tournaments with victory over Roger Federer in Cincinnati.

The 31-year-old Serb, a five-time runner-up at the event, beat seven-time champion Federer 6-4 6-4.

Wimbledon champion Djokovic had lost the Cincinnati final to the Swiss on three previous occasions.

“It’s a very special moment,” he said. “It’s the first time I get to stand with a winning trophy in Cincinnati.”

Victory for world number two Federer would have brought him his 99th career trophy, as well as levelling the long-time rivals’ head-to-head record at 23-23.

Djokovic will now look to take his form into the US Open, which starts on 27 August, having previously won two titles at Flushing Meadows.

Federer was under pressure from the start, saving two break points before holding to win the first game.

World number 10 Djokovic eventually broke his opponent’s serve for 4-3 before holding to win the opening set.

But Federer started the second set the strongest, racing into a 2-0 lead before Djokovic fought back to level at 2-2.

He earned another decisive break at 4-3 before serving for victory on his first championship point in one hour and 24 minutes to complete a career ‘Golden Masters’.

Federer said: “Congratulations to Novak for your amazing effort not just this week, but throughout your whole career, it is an amazing achievement.

“It’s been a great week, tough on the players but we had a fun time.”

Earlier, Kiki Bertens held off a championship point to upset world number one Simona Halep in the WTA tournament.