Words: Leanne Hall | Subbed: Michael Ward
Gossip Girl star, Ed Westwick has been accused of raping fellow actor, Kristina Cohen. The allegations surfaced today when Cohen penned a post on Facebook about the alleged incident.
In the statement, Cohen claims “I fought him off as hard as I could but he grabbed my face in his hands, shaking me, telling me he wanted to fuck me. I was paralysed, terrified. I couldn’t speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me.”
Following the accusations, Ed Westwick sent out a message publicly denying the claims.
https://twitter.com/EdWestwick/status/927940546382913536
People on Twitter have rushed to call out Ed Westwick due to the allegations, even his old colleagues.
https://twitter.com/fizfizzfizx/status/927919686486028288
https://twitter.com/whatamydid/status/927926110482063360
https://twitter.com/arushiwrites/status/927874940803665920
https://twitter.com/aubeyplaza/status/927907304422469633
Others have rushed to his defence, saying there is no evidence and that he publicly stated he doesn’t know her (Cohen).
https://twitter.com/lydiap847/status/927953793790210048
https://twitter.com/bethanyeleanor_/status/927936459465773056
There's literally no proof ed westwick raped someone apart from a piece of text. Unfair to call him a rapist
— Matt (@EFChamps) November 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/kathryn_major/status/927956218756427777
The actor has been in the firing line for similar reasons before when Gossip Girl decided to normalise rape culture in the forms of his character, Chuck Bass. During the first season Chuck Bass attempts to rape two girls, and continually sexually harasses women during all six seasons. An unfortunate foreshadowing if the accusations do turn out to have substance.
https://twitter.com/ChloeAngyal/status/927908844109484034
Finishing off Cohen’s public statement she writes: “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.”
Ed Westwick’s representatives have not yet released a public statement.