Italian actress Asia Argento, known to fans for starring in the worldwide box office blockbuster xXx opposite Vin Diesel, has accused The Fast and the Furious director Rob Cohen of sexual assault. An outspoken celebrity against sexual harassment in the entertainment industry, Argento had earlier levelled sexual abuse charges against disgraced Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Argento, in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, claimed that Cohen had drugged her drink with Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) during the filming of xXx and raped her. 

Argento told the publication, "At the time, I really didn’t know what it was. I woke up in the morning naked in his bed." She stated that Cohen assaulted her during the shooting of xXx in 2002, with the director's spokesperson later in a statement to Deadline denying the allegations to be "absolutely false". Cohen's spokesperson said, "Mr Cohen categorically denies Asia Argento’s accusation of assault against him as absolutely false. When they worked together, they had an excellent working relationship and Mr. Cohen considered her a friend, so this claim dating back to 2002 is bewildering, especially given what has been reported about her in recent years." The actress has also spoken about the incident in her upcoming autobiography "Anatomy of a Wild Heart", which is releasing in Italy on Tuesday. 

Prior to Argento's statements, accusations against Cohen were made in a 2019 Huffington Post report of an alleged sexual assault on an unnamed victim while she was unconscious. The incident had reportedly occurred in 2015 after Cohen gave the woman a business meeting invitation in Manhattan for a TV pilot discussion. Cohen, who has also directed films like The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor and The Boy Next Door, faced similar charges from his daughter Valkyrie Weather who accused him of molesting her when she was a child. Weather further alleged that Cohen had taken her to visit sex workers in foreign shooting locations when she was a teenager. Cohen has denied the allegations in both cases.