Rose McGowan Says It’s ‘Time To Clean House’ In 1st Comments Since Harvey Weinstein Scandal
Rose McGowan, the driving force behind the Harvey Weinstein scandal, has delivered her first public comments since coming forward as one of the Hollywood mogul’s alleged victims.
Addressing women at the Women’s Convention in Detroit on Friday, McGowan didn’t hold back when delivering an impassioned speech about sexual abuse. The Charmed star, however, stopped short of mentioning Weinstein’s name, and merely referred to him as “the monster,” as reported by ABC News.
McGowan, whose name thrust itself into the national spotlight as part of a scandalous October 5 New York Times story alongside dozens of Weinstein’s other alleged victims of sexual misconduct, urged women to speak out about other “monsters.”
“I have been silenced for 20 years: I have been slut-shamed, I have been harassed, I’ve been maligned,” the central figure in the Harvey Weinstein scandal told the roaring crowd.
In its piece published earlier this month, the Times alleged that McGowan had reached a $100,000 settlement with Weinstein back in 1997 after a hotel room incident at the Sundance Film Festival. Several days after the article had been published, McGowan claimed on Twitter, “HW raped me,” allegedly referring to the Hollywood producer.
More than 50 women have come forward to accuse Weinstein of sexual harassment and abuse, while the Hollywood mogul continues to deny any allegations of non-consensual sex.
Describing each woman as her own rose, McGowan said that women “have thorns,” and “our thorns carry justice, and our thorns carry consequence.”
“No more will we be shunted to the side, no more will we be hurt,” said the 44-year-old actress, best known for her role on Charmed. “It’s time to be brave in the face of unspeakable actions.”
McGowan also slammed the entertainment industry for being a male-dominated environment, saying that “it’s time to clean house.” The actress made clear, however, that sexual harassment and other sexual misconduct go far beyond Hollywood and the entertainment industry.
The alleged accuser of Harvey Weinstein described herself as a “voice for all of us who have been told that we are nothing” and “for all us who have been looked down on.”
“For all of us who have been grabbed by the motherf**king pu**y. No more. Name it, shame it, and call it out,” McGowan said, before urging the crowd of women, “Join me.”
Actress Rose McGowan speaks out: "We are a planet of women and you will hear us roar." https://t.co/4fDT08DSgp pic.twitter.com/i29FbcboY2
— ABC News (@ABC) October 27, 2017
McGowan also launched a website, RoseArmy.com, as a platform for women who have been sexually harassed or abused to share their stories online.
The Harvey Weinstein scandal has been vacuuming up headlines for nearly a month now, with accusations of sexual misconduct extending far beyond the now-disgraced Hollywood producer.
Sexual harassment allegations made by a producer on the Amazon series Man in the High Castle forced former Amazon programming chief Roy Price to resign. Earlier this week, A-list actresses Selma Blair and Rachel McAdams came forward to accuse director James Toback of sexual harassment.
Following the Harvey Weinstein scandal, several women have come forward with sexual harassment allegations against disgraced journalist and former MSNBC contributor Mark Halperin.
[Featured Image by Aaron Thornton/Getty Images]
