Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick is facing some serious charges today as actress Kristina Cohen claims she was raped by the man. Westwick is denying these claims. And he says he doesn't even know his accuser.
Kristina Cohen posted her claim on Facebook, stating that the past month has been a very emotional time for her, as a flood of sexual allegations come out against various individuals in Hollywood including Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey and James Toback. As she puts it, this onslaught of news has been both 'triggering' and 'exhausting'.
Kristina Cohen goes onto say that Ed Westwick sexually assaulted her over three years ago, in February 2014. She calls it a very dark period in her life. Her mother was sick from cancer, and Cohen claims that she did not have the support system to deal with the 'aftermath of the rape'.
The Hollywood Reporter reached out to Cohen. She further detailed the actions that took place. Sister Catalina Colgate and close friend Blaise Godbe Lipman have separately corroborated the story saying they were told of Kristina's sexual assault three years ago shortly after it happened. After Ed Westwick heard the news, he posted his response on Instagram.
"I do not know this woman. I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman. I certainly have never committed rape."
Kristina Cohen has stated that the alleged incident occurred at Westwick's Hollywood Hills home. Producer Kaine Harling reportedly invited the woman to the house. She claims she briefly dated Harling in 2013. This particular visit took a serious turn when Westwick suggested that they all have sex together. Coehn says she immediately wanted to leave, but was convinced to stay for another 20 minutes. Westwick suggested she take a nap in the guest bedroom.
Cohen took his advice, but claims that Westwick assaulted her shortly after she had fallen asleep. She goes onto give this graphic account of what happened next.
"I was woken up abruptly by Ed on top of me, his fingers entering my body. I told him to stop, but he was strong. I fought him off as hard as I could but he grabbed my face in his hands, shaking me, telling me he wanted to f**k me. I was paralyzed, terrified. I couldn't speak, I could no longer move. He held me down and raped me."
Cohen went onto say she was shocked and confused by the whole ordeal. And she didn't leave until the next morning. She notes that Kaine Harling left earlier that night. She would tell her friend Lipman what happened, though Harling blamed Cohen for the rape at that time. She claims that Harling told her, "I can't say anything because Ed will have people come after me, destroy me, and that I could forget about an acting career. Saying there's no way I can go around saying Ed 'raped' me and that I don't want to be 'that girl.'"
Cohen says she hasn't come forward until now because she was unaware of how 'these men in power prey on women, and how this tactic is used so frequently in our industry, and surely, in many others." Harling was asked for a response, but has not yet made a statement or commented on the accusations. Coehn went onto say this about why she is coming out now.
"There is a bigger picture to this, cleaning out the system and creating radical change. I think that's what I'm contributing to. That's the big motivator for having this go out and putting it out there. ... I believe in the message of restoration. This will only make us stronger."
You can read Kristina Cohen's full account of what allegedly transpired in the Facebook post below. Ed Westwick has not made a comment about these claims outside of his Instagram post at this time.