Do Argento allegations discredit #MeToo? Founder says no

What does it mean for #MeToo that Asia Argento, a very public face of the movement, reportedly made a deal with her own accuser?

It means that #MeToo is working as it should, Tarana Burke, the founder of the movement, said on Twitter.

“People will use these recent news stories to try and discredit this movement — don’t let that happen,” she tweeted Monday. “This is what Movement is about.”

Ms. Argento quietly arranged to pay off the actor Jimmy Bennett after he said she sexually assaulted him in 2013 — when he was 17 and she was 37 — according to documents that were sent to The New York Times through encrypted email by an unidentified party.

Ms. Argento, an Italian actress and director, was one of Harvey Weinstein’s early accusers. She said Mr. Weinstein, the now-disgraced movie producer, raped her during the Cannes Film Festival in France in 1997, when she was 21. She has not yet responded to the new report.

Ms. Argento’s very public accusation of Mr. Weinstein last fall helped propel the fast-spreading #MeToo movement, which has toppled dozens of entertainers, executives and politicians, among others.

Ms. Burke and others were quick to shoot down criticism that being accused somehow invalidated Ms. Argento’s claims.

“There is no model survivor,” Ms. Burke said. “We are imperfectly human and we all have to be accountable for our individual behavior.”