Ed Westwick: Gossip Girl actor accused of sexual assault by second woman
Allegation comes after Westwick denied assaulting another actor Kristina Cohen
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Your support makes all the difference.A second woman, former actor Aurelie Wynn, has accused Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick of raping her.
Westwick, who is known for playing Chuck Bass in the popular TV series, strongly denied assaulting actor Kristina Cohen after she described an alleged encounter in a lengthy Facebook post on Tuesday.
“I do not know this woman. I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman. I certainly have never committed rape,” Westwick, 30, said on Instagram and Twitter on Tuesday.
Wynn, whose stage name was Aurelie Marie Cao, claimed the 30-year-old sexually assaulted her in July 2014.
Writing in a Facebook post on Wednesday, she said the alleged incident took place at Westwick’s home.
In the post, Wynn said she told her then boyfriend Mark Sailing – the Glee star who recently pleaded guilty to child pornography possession – about the alleged incident but he blamed her and ended up splitting up with her.
“My other friends and people around me told me it was best not to say anything, to not be ‘that girl’ and that no one would believe me and think I was just out trying to get my 10 seconds of fame,” she said.
“And so I kept quiet and soon got to see and hear how prevalent sexual assault and intimidation goes on in this industry ... to the point where I questioned how much I really wanted to be in entertainment as I didn't see it getting better.”
She said that Cohen’s allegations about Westwick had inspired her to come forward with her own accusations.
“I am so incredibly thankful all of this is finally coming to light and that there is justice in the world. I believe you Kristina Cohen and thank you for speaking up so eloquently and really encompassing what young female actresses have to go through at the hands of men like Ed Westwick. Without you I would not have had the strength to speak up publicly about my ordeal,” she said.
Cohen claimed a man she was dating at the time brought her to Westwick’s house three years ago where he allegedly raped her. She alleged she awoke from a nap in a guest bedroom to find herself being assaulted by Westwick.
Westwick rose to fame for his lead role in The CW drama Gossip Girl which ran between 2007 and 2012.
The west London-born actor made his feature film debut in Children of Men in 2006 and is currently starring in BBC Two comedy series White Gold.
A representative for Westwick did not respond to request for comment.