Rose McGowan on Thursday confirmed Harvey Weinstein is the Hollywood studio executive she says raped her. This marks the first time McGowan has identified her assailant by name.
The revelation first came in a series of tweets McGowan posted Thursday afternoon directed at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos just hours after her account was reactivated after a brief suspension imposed by the social media platform. Fans and supporters were outraged.
The first tweet reads: “1) @jeffbezos I told the head of your studio that HW raped me. Over & over I said it. He said it hadn’t been proven. I said I was the proof.”
The actress confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter those initials belong to Weinstein. She told THR she had no further comment beyond her tweets.
In response to the allegations, Weinstein’s spokesperson Sallie Hofmeister told THR: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein.”
The New York Times was the first to report that McGowan had reached a settlement with Weinstein following an encounter in 1997 at a hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival. The Times cited a legal document it had obtained though McGowan did not comment at the time as part of the explosive investigation by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey that found Weinstein had been accused of inappropriate sexual conduct over several decades. Nor did she elaborate on what exactly had occurred in that hotel room.
However, McGowan has previously revealed that she was a survivor of rape and that her assault was perpetrated by a powerful studio boss. One year ago, in October 2016, McGowan posted a series of tweets as part of a social media movement titled “Why Women Don’t Report.” Those tweets included: “a (female) criminal attorney said because I’d done a sex scene in a film I would never win against the studio head. #WhyWomenDontReport.” She followed with, “because it’s been an open secret in Hollywood/Media & they shamed me while adulating my rapist. #WhyWomenDontReport.”
Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
McGowan herself signaled that she was, perhaps, preparing to come forward and directly accuse Weinstein by name as her rapist when she tweeted, “Now am I allowed to say rapist?” on Tuesday in response to Anthony Bourdain, boyfriend of Weinstein accuser Asia Argento, who tweeted, “Can we use the word ‘rapist’ now? #Weinstein.”
She also replied to a New Yorker tweet containing the audio of Weinstein’s troubling encounter with Ambra Battilana Gutierrez, by saying, “Now imagine his huge size, his monster face/body closing in you. In one second your life path is not yours. You have been stolen.”
Following the reports this week in the Times and in the New Yorker, McGowan has emerged as a powerful voice of resistance against a troubled Hollywood culture and as a strong supporter of the women who have come out against the movie mogul by sharing their own stories of harassment and abuse. Weinstein has been accused by three additional women of rape. Numerous others say he either allegedly sexually assaulted them or sexually harassed them.
McGowan blasted stars, such as Ben Affleck, for being culpable for remaining silent even though they allegedly had knowledge of Weinstein’s actions. See McGowan’s tweets below.
1) @jeffbezos I told the head of your studio that HW raped me. Over & over I said it. He said it hadn’t been proven. I said I was the proof.
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 12, 2017
2) @jeffbezos I had already sold a script I wrote to your studio, it was in development. When I heard a Weinstein bailout was in the works
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 12, 2017
3) @Jeffbezos I forcefully begged studio head to do the right thing. I was ignored. Deal was done. Amazon won a dirty Oscar.
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 12, 2017
4) @jeffbezos I called my attorney & said I want to get my script back, but before I could, #2 @amazonstudios called to say my show was dead
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 12, 2017
5) @jeffbezos Be the change you want to see in the world. Stand with truth. #ROSEARMY #Amazon
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 12, 2017
Oct. 12, 4:30 p.m. Updated to include statement from Weinstein’s spokesperson.
