ROSE'S 'RAPE' BOMBSHELL
McGowan ‘spills’ on Weinstein hush money
Actress Rose McGowan opened up for the first time Thursday about why she was paid $100,000 in hush money by Harvey Weinstein — accusing the deposed movie mogul of rape while also saying she repeatedly warned Amazon Studios’ chief about what Weinstein had done.
“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,” she wrote to Amazon boss Jeff Bezos in a five-post tweetstorm. “I forcefully begged studio head to do the right thing. I was ignored. Deal was done. Amazon won a dirty Oscar.”
McGowan has previously said that she was “raped by a Hollywood studio head,” and last week’s New York Times report revealing sexual-harassment allegations against Weinstein noted that he’d paid her a $100,000 settlement following “an episode in a hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival.” But this is the first time she’s put Weinstein’s name to a rape allegation.
The “Charmed” star went on to say that her conversation with the Amazon Studios head took place after she had already sold a TV script to Amazon — and that her show was killed following her accusations.
“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.”
The “dirty Oscar” does not appear to refer to Weinstein — who did not produce either of Amazon’s Academy Award-winning films. “Manchester by the Sea,” which won two Oscars, starred Casey Affleck, who settled two lawsuits over sexual-harassment allegations.
The Weinstein Company, which fired co-founder Harvey over the weekend, is working with Amazon on two upcoming series, although the studio now says it is “reviewing our options for the projects.”
McGowan did not specifically say who the Amazon “studio head” was, but the tweets came amid reports that Amazon’s programming chief, Roy Price, allegedly sexually harassed a female executive producer of one of its shows. Isa Hackett, an executive producer of “The Man in the High Castle,” told The Hollywood Reporter that Price told her, “You will love my d--k” while in a cab on the way to a crew party.
Hackett says Price later approached her while she was talking to other executives and said “anal sex” in her ear.
She said she promptly reported him to company honchos, who brought in an outside investigator. On Thursday, Amazon said publicly that Price has been put on a “leave of absence” and that they “are reviewing our options for the projects we have with The Weinstein Co.”
Price did not return a request for comment.
Hollywood Reporter part-owner Janice Min tweeted out the report prefacing it, “Now for some context around the Rose McGowan-Jeff Bezos thread . . .”
McGowan’s tweets came shortly after Twitter lifted a suspension on her account — she had accused “powerful forces” of being behind the ban, and #WomenBoycottTwitter became the No. 1 trending hashtag. Twitter said it was because she had listed someone’s personal phone number, in violation of rules.
The latest revelations unfolded as police probes into Weinstein’s alleged crimes spread. London’s Metropolitan Police told The Guardian it is investigating a sexual-abuse allegation against the filthy film tycoon — following the NYPD’s announcement that it is looking into accusations by three women.
An LAPD source also said Thursday that it’s “considering” investigating Weinstein, Deadline Hollywood reported.
Meanwhile, more actresses came forward to share their own Weinstein “casting couch” horror stories — joining the many women now making accusations against the Hollywood horndog.
Former “NCIS: Los Angeles” star Claire Forlani claimed that she “escaped” the clutches of the “master manipulator” on five occasions as a young woman.
“All I remember was I ducked, dived and ultimately got out of there without getting slobbered over, well just a bit. Yes, massage was suggested,” she wrote.
Another British actress said she was so traumatized when Weinstein masturbated in front of her that it ruined her film career.
“I decided if this what being an actress is like, I don’t want it,” Sophie Dix told The Guardian.
Dix, who was 22 at the time, said that in the 1990s, she “naively” accepted an invitation to Weinstein’s hotel room, where he pushed her onto the bed and tugged her clothes. She locked herself in the bathroom and emerged later to find him pleasuring himself.
Weinstein is currently ensconced at an addiction-treatment facility in Arizona. Sources told The Post it was The Meadows in Wickenburg.
The center costs $37,000 a month, according to online reviews, and offers treatment for sexual addiction as well as “love addiction” and “work addiction,” alongside drug and alcohol addition.
Meanwhile, agents across Hollywood are steering clear of The Weinstein Company, fearing backlash from their clients or creating the impression they’re in business with his former company, industry insiders told Deadline Hollywood.
The Web site said that agents at first seemed ready to keep dealing with Weinstein’s company after he left last weekend but are now distancing themselves amid the claims of abuse.