Asia Argento is still "terrified" of Harvey Weinstein

She has now told Italian magazine Sette about how the 72-year-old still petrifies her even though he is behind bars: "One remains forever tied to the person who harmed them. I wonder what life in prison is like for someone like him who had everything?

"He was surrounded by people who would do whatever he asked. Perhaps now, he's the one who is afraid?"

When asked if she would ever want to meet Weinstein again, the actress added:

"I wouldn't accept (to see him): he still terrifies me. For a long time, I lived with anxiety whenever I encountered him at events.

"The fact that he's locked up reassures me."

Despite becoming a leading light in the #MeToo movement that exploded in the wake of the Weinstein case, Asia has slammed it for turning into a "meat grinder" that led "witch hunts".

She blasted: "It started as a pure movement, then the meat grinder took over. Media witch hunts, persecutions through tweets and hashtags: in America, all of this is incredibly strong.

"I find cancel culture frightening: from exposing the misdeeds of criminals like Weinstein, who raped girls with impunity, we've moved on to cancelling people who have less than impeccable sexual conducts.

"But who really does? I certainly don't. It's become an obsessive interest in people's sex lives."

But the mother-of-two stressed there were positives to the movement, adding: "For the new generations, like that of my children, there's a greater understanding of issues related to rape, harassment, and consent.

"These were topics that weren't discussed when I was young. However, America has taken everything to a deadly extreme, turning it into a mess that oversimplifies things.

"A fake new puritanism that also humiliates culture, art, and music. In cinema, sexuality can no longer be portrayed in all its complexity. I have the desire to destroy all of this."