Ed Westwick Too (UPDATE)

Those of you wondering if Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick is still alive don’t necessarily have your answer today, but we do know that he was alive – and kicking, literally – three years ago when he raped actress Kristina Cohen. The now twenty-seven-year-old is dipping her toes into the tsunami of a wake created by the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal with a lengthy Facebook post detailing her encounter with Chuck Bass himself. 

In a tale as old as time, Cohen headed to Westwick’s house with her producer boyfriend to hang out. The Hollywood Rape Club (“No adults allowed!” – Kevin Spacey) equivalent of a booty call. Westwick was apparently all kinds of predatory, and her gem of a boyfriend fed her to the wolf. Westwick jokingly suggested that they all have sex with each other. Um gay. And when Cohen opted out of what would surely be a beautiful evening of love making, Westwick suggested that she take a nap in the guest bedroom while the two men could smooth over the awkward situation. And blow their loads in each others’ mouths. Probably. Before Cohen knew it, Westwick had entered the guest bedroom and was on top of her, and you can read about the experience in detail in her post. As well as some reasons why now is the opportune time to come forward with this allegation. None of which are to advance Cohen’s career. That’s doing really really well so don’t even go there:

I now realize 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.

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.

Westwick’s character Chuck Bass tries to rape Blake Lively’s character Serena the first episode of Gossip Girl. He also physically attacks sobbing high school freshman Jenny, played by Taylor Momsen. Talk about someone who’s probably dead now. The CW romanticized the story of an affluent, suave male predator lurking around New York’s Upper East Side to impressionable tween audiences in Kentucky salivating over the idea of getting groped against their will by the one and only Chuck Bass. Swoon. This is obviously no fault of Cohen’s – Lord knows she has never had creative control over anything during her career – and is more about that fact that, as I’ve said, Hollywood has been glamorizing these kinds of situations for decades, and now we’re expected to act shocked that they exist in reality. I’d be more shocked if someone wasn’t molested while traversing an industry that relies on looks and connections. A neverending suppy of pretty young people desperate for stardom and a tiny sprinkling of powerful men who can make it happen? Rape soufflé. I leave you with a poster for Gossip Girl featuring Ed Westwick. It’s always the people you least suspect right.

UPDATE

Westwick has responded to Cohen’s allegations on Twitter with a comment that, while less 140 characters, is shared via a screen shot. Already seems fishy:

pic.twitter.com/xYWvKkeXO7

— Ed Westwick (@EdWestwick) November 7, 2017

^{Photo Credit: Instagram, CW}