Argento, who has said that Harvey Weinstein raped her, was seen for many months as a figurehead in the movement against sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood. But she is now facing a #MeToo allegation of her own, after her former co-star Jimmy Bennett accused her of sexually assaulting him in 2013. Bennett was 17 at the time of the alleged assault in a hotel room in California, where the age of consent is 18.

The New York Times reported in August that Argento settled with Bennett, now 22, for $380,000 (£289,200) last October. He had told her that he intended to sue her for damages as a result of the trauma caused by the alleged assault.

Police in Los Angeles are now investigating Bennett’s claim, after it emerged that he had not filed a police report about the alleged incident in 2013.

Argento has denied the allegations against her, and initially said she had “never had any sexual relationship with Bennett”. She claimed her late partner Anthony Bourdain wanted to pay Bennett the money to help him with “severe economic problems”, and to avoid any “possible negative publicity”.

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