'Gossip Girl' actor Ed Westwick accused of rape
According to a recent development, the 'Gossip Girl' star is now being investigated by LAPD
PHOTO: FILE
After a wave of revelations post the Harvey Weinstein fiasco and Kevin Spacey's controversy, in another instance of #MeToo, actor Kristina Cohen has alleged that Ed Westwick aka Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl - raped her three years ago.
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While writing a lengthy and detailed Facebook post, Cohen says she was taken to Westwick's home by a producer she was dating at the time. She claims that she was convinced to stay so as to not make things 'awkward.'
At some point in the evening, Cohen says she went and lay down in the guest room at Westwick's suggestion and was awakened with the actor on top of her. She continues, claiming "he held me down and raped me."
"I told him to stop, but he was strong. I fought him off as hard as I could but he grabbed my face in his hands, shaking me. I was paralysed, terrified. I couldn’t speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me," wrote Cohen.
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The actor says that the producer persuaded her to believe that she was somehow complicit and that making accusations against Westwick would kill her acting career. She writes, "And for the longest time, I believed him. I didn’t want to be 'that girl.'"
"I’m sickened to see men like Ed respected in such a public way. Interviewed by prestigious platforms such as the Oxford Union Society at Oxford University, where he was honored as one of their “People who Shape our World.” How does this end? Men like Ed using fame and power to rape and intimidate but then continue through the world collecting accolades," she wrote.
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Cohen says that her decision to go public now has been an extremely difficult one, but "I hope my coming forward will help others to know that they are not alone, that they are not to blame, and it is not their fault. Just as the other women and men coming forward have helped me to realize the same. I hope that my stories and the stories of others help to reset and realign the toxic environments and power imbalances that have created these monsters."
Read the entire Facebook post below:
[fbpost link="https://www.facebook.com/kristina.kruz.5/posts/10211729772336179"]
Westwick has finally responded to Cohen's rape allegations with an Instagram post that says: "I do not know this woman. I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman. I certainly have never committed rape."
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbM4P6jBU26/
However, the recent development in the story states that the Gossip Girl star is now being investigated by LAPD. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cohen has filed a report with the Los Angels Police Department’s Hollywood precinct and the LAPD is now investigating to determine if “suspect forced victim to have sexual intercourse inside his residence … three years ago.”
Raped or not: TV show re-enacts sexual assaults and asks viewers if they think real-life victims were actually attacked
A close friend of Cohen’s and her sister have both corroborated her account of the alleged assault, and say they were told about it three years ago after it supposedly took place.
Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.
'Star Trek' actor alleges Kevin Spacey tried to seduce him when he was 14
While writing a lengthy and detailed Facebook post, Cohen says she was taken to Westwick's home by a producer she was dating at the time. She claims that she was convinced to stay so as to not make things 'awkward.'
At some point in the evening, Cohen says she went and lay down in the guest room at Westwick's suggestion and was awakened with the actor on top of her. She continues, claiming "he held me down and raped me."
"I told him to stop, but he was strong. I fought him off as hard as I could but he grabbed my face in his hands, shaking me. I was paralysed, terrified. I couldn’t speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me," wrote Cohen.
Netflix cancels 'House of Cards', says 'troubled' by Spacey allegation
The actor says that the producer persuaded her to believe that she was somehow complicit and that making accusations against Westwick would kill her acting career. She writes, "And for the longest time, I believed him. I didn’t want to be 'that girl.'"
"I’m sickened to see men like Ed respected in such a public way. Interviewed by prestigious platforms such as the Oxford Union Society at Oxford University, where he was honored as one of their “People who Shape our World.” How does this end? Men like Ed using fame and power to rape and intimidate but then continue through the world collecting accolades," she wrote.
Nobody deserves to feel unsafe at work: Sonakshi Sinha
Cohen says that her decision to go public now has been an extremely difficult one, but "I hope my coming forward will help others to know that they are not alone, that they are not to blame, and it is not their fault. Just as the other women and men coming forward have helped me to realize the same. I hope that my stories and the stories of others help to reset and realign the toxic environments and power imbalances that have created these monsters."
Read the entire Facebook post below:
[fbpost link="https://www.facebook.com/kristina.kruz.5/posts/10211729772336179"]
Westwick has finally responded to Cohen's rape allegations with an Instagram post that says: "I do not know this woman. I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman. I certainly have never committed rape."
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbM4P6jBU26/
However, the recent development in the story states that the Gossip Girl star is now being investigated by LAPD. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cohen has filed a report with the Los Angels Police Department’s Hollywood precinct and the LAPD is now investigating to determine if “suspect forced victim to have sexual intercourse inside his residence … three years ago.”
Raped or not: TV show re-enacts sexual assaults and asks viewers if they think real-life victims were actually attacked
A close friend of Cohen’s and her sister have both corroborated her account of the alleged assault, and say they were told about it three years ago after it supposedly took place.
Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.