Rose McGowan details assault by Harvey Weinstein in new book
▶ The actress calls the movie producer a ‘cult leader,’ writes Claire Corkery
Rose McGowan, one of the first women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, has said the movie mogul was protected by the Democratic Party.
The actress, who alleged that Weinstein had raped her in 1997, is one of around 90 women to make sexual harassment allegations against the 66-year-old. Weinstein, who has been charged with six sexual assault counts relating to three different women, denies all allegations of non-consensual sex.
Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival to promote her new book Brave, the star of Charmed (20012007) compared the former Miramax studio boss to a cult leader. “Harvey Weinstein, his protection came from the Democratic Party, far more so than Hollywood,” the 44-year-old said. “He was their de facto cult leader and their star. “He tended to go for anybody. And the scale, it was probably in the thousands.”
The producer was one of the Democrats’ most highprofile donors and a long-time supporter of 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. He is believed to have raised US $1.5 million (Dh5.5 million) for the party from 1990-2016.
Clinton and former president Barack Obama both condemned Weinstein, but faced criticism for not doing so in the immediate wake of the allegations. McGowan said the election of American president Donald Trump, who was infamously recorded boasting about groping women in a tape from 2005, had made it clear that the fight for gender equality was far from over.
“I started getting mad three years ago when Obama was president and equal pay was voted down in the Senate floor. And he didn’t say anything.
“I do think Trump has done us a favour if we can survive him. But I think in showing us clearly what racism and sexism is, he is doing what they all did before – he just says it. So many of his predecessors, they worked under those same auspices, he’s just so dumb he actually says it.”
In Brave, the actress details her alleged assault by Weinstein, whom she refers to as the “monster”, in a hotel room. She said a network of people – from the Maitre D at the hotel to her manager at the time – helped conceal the disgraced producer’s abuse.
McGowan, who made her breakthrough in the 1996 horror film Scream, said last year in The New Yorker that she had been spied on by former Mossad agents turned private investigators, who were hired by Weinstein. “My life is a little strange. I sold my house in Hollywood. I live nowhere,” she said. “I feel like it is best to be on the move right now. I have a lot of scary people tailing me, private investigators, spies. This has all been documented by the way.”
Discussing the toll, the revelations, first published in October last year had taken on her life, she added: “I’m trying to find my way in the world right now.
“This last year, the stress of it almost snapped me. I’m strong, but it was really hard. It felt like I was manning the Titanic and failing to let it sink,” she concludes.