It seems that with each passing day, a new Hollywood star finds themselves under fire and the latest is Ed Westwick, perhaps best known for his role on Gossip Girl. According to Deadline, the Los Angeles Police Department is now investigating the actor after claims from Kristina Cohen that she was raped by him back in 2014 – which, for the record, Westwick denies.
Cohen has two witnesses to support her claim, one of whom is former child actor Blaise Godbe Lipman, who said the following about the incident:
“She came over to my home the following morning and told me everything. She was in a state of shock. It was without a doubt a rape. I’ve known her since 2009,” he added. “We were teen actors. We worked on a few projects over the years. We met on the Warner Bros. lot in 2008.”
Cohen’s sister, Katalina Colgate, also backed up the claims, telling Deadline:
“Very shortly after it happened, she told me that she was raped. She told me and my other sister. I was furious.”
Meanwhile, Kristina herself issued a statement via an explosive Facebook post, an excerpt of which can be found below:
“I’m sickened to see men like Ed respected in such a public way. Interviewed by prestigious platforms such as the Oxford Union Society at Oxford University, where he was honored as one of their “People who Shape our World.” How does this end? Men like Ed using fame and power to rape and intimidate but then continue through the world collecting accolades.
I hope my coming forward will help others to know that they are not alone, that they are not to blame, and it is not their fault. Just as the other women and men coming forward have helped me to realize 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.”
As for Westwick, like we said above, he’s vehemently denying the incident, taking to social media earlier today to say the following:
“I do not know this woman. I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman. I certainly have never committed rape.”
What will come of all this remains to be seen, of course, but these allegations are certainly troubling to hear and are only the latest in a long list of them, as we’ve seen accusations leveled against several Hollywood power players over the past few weeks, including Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey.
Whether Ed Westwick actually raped Kristina Cohen or not isn’t for us to judge, but we will say that the industry clearly has a very serious issue right now and until those guilty are brought to justice, we can only hope that this torrent of allegations helps expose other sexual predators working within Hollywood.
