 "Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick accused of rape by actress Kristina Cohen")
Los Angeles: Actor Kristina Cohen has accused Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick of raping her three years ago. In a lengthy Facebook post, Cohen alleged that the rape occurred at Westwick’s apartment. Cohen said she met Westwick for the first time when she visited the 30-year-old actor’s apartment with her then- boyfriend who was friends with him. She said she wanted to leave after Westwick made some sexual comments, but stayed back as her producer boyfriend did not want to make the White Gold actor feel awkward. “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. [caption id=“attachment_4198149” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] File image of Ed Westwick. AFP[/caption] “So I went and laid down in the guest room where I eventually fell asleep, I was woken up abruptly by Ed on top of me… I told him to stop, but he was strong,” she said. “I was paralysed, terrified. I couldn’t speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me,” Cohen wrote. The Ladies Like Us actor said the producer she went with, put the blame on her, “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.” “… I now realise the ways in which these men in power prey on women, and how this tactic is used so frequently in our industry, and surely, in many others,” she added. Cohen said she feels “sickened” to see “men like Ed respected in such a public way.”
The actor said she hopes her coming forward will help other to know they are not alone and are not to blame. “Just as the other women and men coming forward have helped me to realise 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,” she wrote.
