Gossip Girl Star Ed Westwick is the Latest Industry Male Accused of Rape
Two women have come forward accusing Ed Westwick of rape. Westwick is best known as Gossip Girl‘s resident bad-boy, Chuck Bass, a character who attempts to rape not one but two characters (Jenny and Serena) in the first episode of the popular series. Bass went on to become the romantic hero of the show, and every teen girl’s definition of “boyfriend goals.”
But back to the IRL story of powerful men prying on women without consequence. The first accuser to come forward was actress Kristina Cohen. On November 6, Cohen, who has has minor roles in over a dozen movies and TV series, shared an emotional post alleging that Westwick raped her three years ago. She wrote that an unnamed “producer” she was dating at the time brought her to Westwick’s house. She claims to have never met Westwick before, and says she wanted to leave when he suggested “we should all fuck.” Cohen then alleges Westick suggested she take a nap in a spare bedroom, and when she woke up the actor was on top of her, “his fingers entering [her] body.”
Read Cohen’s Facebook post in full below:
The last month has been incredibly difficult. Like so many women I too have a story of sexual assault, and the…
Posted by Kristina Cohen on Monday, November 6, 2017
Cohen explained in the post that she’s gone “back and forth” about coming forward with her sexual assault. “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.”
Westwick responded to the allegations Tuesday morning, with a post to Twitter and Instagram:
On November 8, former actress Aurélie Wynn posted a similar testimony to her Facebook page, claiming: “I said no and he pushed me face down and was powerless under his weight.”
In July 2014, the time of the alleged incident, Wynn was dating Glee star Mark Salling – who recently plead guilty to child pornography possession. When Wynn told Salling about Westwick’s supposed actions, he blamed her and ended the relationship. When Wynn told her friends, they advised her to not tell anyone as she would be seen as someone “trying to get my 10 seconds of fame.”
Both Cohen and Wynn’s brave decision to take their story public is a reflection of the #MeToo campaign, a movement that went viral in the wake of allegations against powerhouse producer, Harvey Weinstein. More and more men and women have found the courage to speak out: allegations of harassment and assault have been made against James Toback, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, and George H.W. Bush. Most of these accused men are well over the age of 50, and so, at first, it was easy to dismiss this systematic abuse of power as a generational thing. There’s never an excuse for thinking you have the right to a women’s body, but these men come from a time of unchecked male privilege.
But, now, we’re seeing younger men brought down. We can’t call this an “Old Hollywood” problem. As men and women feel safer sharing their stories, we can and should expect predators of all ages be brought to light.
UPDATE 11/9: Westwick has responded on social media for a second time, again denying the allegations.
 in the first episode of the popular series. Bass went on to become the romantic hero of the show, and every teen girl's definition of "boyfriend goals."
But back to the IRL story of powerful men prying on women without consequence. The first accuser to come forward was actress Kristina Cohen. On November 6, Cohen, who has has minor roles in over a dozen movies and TV series, shared an emotional post alleging that Westwick raped her three years ago. She wrote that an unnamed "producer" she was dating at the time brought her to Westwick's house. She claims to have never met Westwick before, and says she wanted to leave when he suggested "we should all fuck." Cohen then alleges Westick suggested she take a nap in a spare bedroom, and when she woke up the actor was on top of her, “his fingers entering [her] body.”
Read Cohen's Facebook post in full below:
https://www.facebook.com/kristina.kruz.5/posts/10211729772336179
Cohen explained in the post that she's gone "back and forth" about coming forward with her sexual assault. "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."
Westwick responded to the allegations Tuesday morning, with a post to Twitter and Instagram:
A post shared by Ed Westwick (@edwestwick) on Nov 7, 2017 at 8:46am PST
On November 8, former actress Aurélie Wynn posted a similar testimony to her Facebook page, claiming: “I said no and he pushed me face down and was powerless under his weight."
In July 2014, the time of the alleged incident, Wynn was dating Glee star Mark Salling – who recently plead guilty to child pornography possession. When Wynn told Salling about Westwick's supposed actions, he blamed her and ended the relationship. When Wynn told her friends, they advised her to not tell anyone as she would be seen as someone “trying to get my 10 seconds of fame.”
Both Cohen and Wynn's brave decision to take their story public is a reflection of the #MeToo campaign, a movement that went viral in the wake of allegations against powerhouse producer, Harvey Weinstein. More and more men and women have found the courage to speak out: allegations of harassment and assault have been made against James Toback, Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey, and George H.W. Bush. Most of these accused men are well over the age of 50, and so, at first, it was easy to dismiss this systematic abuse of power as a generational thing. There's never an excuse for thinking you have the right to a women's body, but these men come from a time of unchecked male privilege.
But, now, we're seeing younger men brought down. We can't call this an "Old Hollywood" problem. As men and women feel safer sharing their stories, we can and should expect predators of all ages be brought to light.
UPDATE 11/9: Westwick has responded on social media for a second time, again denying the allegations.
A post shared by Ed Westwick (@edwestwick) on Nov 9, 2017 at 9:52am PST
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