Biggest Scandals of the Year

Actress Asia Argento was at the forefront of the #MeToo movement, but she herself became embroiled in a scandal involving sexual abuse in 2018. A New York Times report in September said Argento reached an agreement with actor Jimmy Bennett who had accused her of sexual assault. According to the Times story, there were documents alleging that Argento sexually abused Bennett in 2013, when he was 17 and she was 37. Argento said the reports are false and denied having a sexual relationship with Bennett. It was reported that Bennett sued Argento for $3.5 million in damages in November 2017, a month after she spoke out about Weinstein, and that Argento later agreed to pay Bennett $380,000.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, an outspoken supporter of the #MeToo movement, was forced to resign following a report of sexual misconduct and physical abuse that was published in the the New Yorker magazine. Schneiderman initially denied the report, saying the relationships were consensual. After the report was published, he stepped down on May 8, saying in a statement that “While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time.”