In a lengthy Facebook post on Monday, actress Kristina Cohen accused Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick of raping her three years ago.
[Warning: Cohen’s account contains graphic details.]
The alleged incident took place in Westwick’s house, where “I met Ed for the first time,” she wrote. Cohen was there with her boyfriend at the time, a producer, and she requested to leave when Ed suggested that “we should all f*ck.” But her boyfriend, who was friends with Westwick, “didn’t want to make Ed feel awkward by leaving,” she continued. “Ed insisted we stay for dinner. I said I was tired and wanted to leave, trying to get out of what was already an uncomfortable situation. Ed suggested I nap in the guest bedroom. The producer said we would stay for just another 20 more minutes to smooth everything over, and then we could leave.” Cohen fell asleep, and when she woke up, Westwick was “on top of me, his fingers entering my body.”
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, telling me he wanted to f*ck me. I was paralyzed, terrified. I couldn’t speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me.
It was a nightmare, and the days following weren’t any better.
The producer put the blame on me, telling me I was an active participant. Telling me that I can’t say anything because Ed will have people come after me, destroy me, and that I could forget about an acting career. Saying there’s no way I can go around saying Ed “raped” me and that I don’t want to be “that girl.” (Via)
Cohen refused to be “that girl,” though. “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,” she wrote. “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.” You can read her full post here.
Westwick responded to the allegations on Instagram. “I do not know this woman,” he wrote. “I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman. I certainly have never committed rape.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BbM4P6jBU26/
(Via Facebook)
