No longer silenced. Rose McGowan gave a powerful speech to an estimated crowd of 5,000 women at The Women’s Convention in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday, October 27. She spoke out publicly for the first time since her rape allegations against Harvey Weinstein, delivering a passionate dialogue about women needing to take their power back from harassers.
The 44-year-old started her message by saying: “I have been silenced for 20 years. I have been slut-shamed. I have been harassed. I’ve been maligned. And you know what? I’m just like you. Because what happened to me behind the scenes happens to all of us in this society and that cannot stand and it will not stand.”
She has been outspoken on social media regarding the recent claims from more than 58 accusers, according to USA Today, who have come forward with stories of sexual misconduct and is determined to bring awareness to the ugly side of Hollywood.
“Hollywood may seem like it’s an isolated thing, but it is not,” she continued. “It is the messaging system for your mind. It is the mirror that you’re given to look into. This is what you are as a woman. This is what you are as a man. This is what you are as a boy. Girl. Gay. Straight. Transgender. But it’s all told through 96 percent males in the Directors Guild of America. That statistic has not changed since 1946,” she claimed, “So we are given one view. And I know the men behind that view. And they should not be in your mind and they should not be in mind. It’s time to clean house.”
The emotional deliverance comes just weeks after The New York Times reported that the Scream actress had reached a $100,000 settlement with the producer, 65, after an alleged encounter at a hotel room during the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. The payout was “not to be construed as an admission” of guilt by Weinstein, but intended to “avoid litigation and buy peace,” according to legal documents obtained by the Times.
She referenced Weinstein as a “monster” and reflected on the past month saying it was a “triggering” time where her “monster’s” face has been everywhere.
The Charmed alum went on to encourage other victims to come forward: “I came to be a voice for all of us who have been told that we are nothing. For all us who have been looked down on. For all of us who have been grabbed by the motherf—king p—sy.”
“No more. Name it, shame it and call it out. Join me,” she added. “Pussies grab back. Women grab back. We speak! We yell. We march. We are here. We will not go away. My name is Rose McGowan and I am brave and I am you.”
As previously reported, McGowan has been a voice of resistance against the former executive since the many allegations against him came to light in early October.
The producer was fired by his own company on October 8 and entered a treatment center on October 13 in Arizona but left treatment after just one week.
