In a lengthy on-stage interview with original #MeToo reporter Ronan Farrow on Thursday night, Rose McGowan made some alarming claims about her ongoing war with Harvey Weinstein as well as other disturbing incidents in her past, including an account of another alleged sexual assault on her by a man she described as a “prominent” industry figure.
McGowan has been one of the leading voices in the #MeToo movement, particularly regarding Weinstein, whom she has accused of raping her, an allegation he has consistently denied. This week, Weinstein’s lawyer Ben Brafman released what he said was two pieces of evidence that McGowan was lying about the alleged “rape.” Their sexual encounter, Weinstein insists, was “consensual.” In the statement, Brafman accuses McGowan of using the “false” allegations as a means to “promote her new book.” McGowan responded Tuesday by tweeting that Brafman “will burn.”
On Thursday, McGowan joined Farrow, who helped break the Weinstein scandal, at New York City’s 92Y in front of what The Hollywood Reporter describes as a “packed audience.” The interview is part of a promotional tour for McGowan’s new book “Brave” and the E! docuseries focused on her Weinstein allegations titled “Citizen Rose.” THR provided a partial transcript of the exchange, which is used below.
Farrow praised McGowan as being “instrumental” in driving the #MeToo movement; the actress, Farrow told the audience, had been telling reporters about Weinstein’s alleged predatory behavior long before the story broke in October. Though the two had spoken before he published his bombshell story in the New Yorker after NBC turned him down, McGowan did not allow him to quote her because of legal concerns.
When the two began to discuss Weinstein hiring private investigators in an attempt to discredit accusers and journalists looking into their accusations, McGowan made a disturbing claim: Weinstein is still “going after” her. THR reports:
Now, months after McGowan broke her silence to go public about Weinstein, the actress claims Weinstein is still “going after her.” She said someone was recently offered a significant sum to tell the press what hotel room she was staying in, and that an altercation during her New York City book signing the night before was due to a “paid plant” in the audience sent there to engage in a screaming match.
“Who else cares? Who else is going to stalk me?” she asked. In response, Farrow said he could not comment about “ongoing” reporting.
In reference to Brafman’s statement dismissing her allegations, McGowan said, “It feels violent; it feels degrading.”
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During the interview, Farrow brought up McGowan being subjected to abuse several times over the course of her life, tracing all the way back to her childhood when her family was a part of an extreme religious cult, Children of God. McGowan said when she was a child she instinctively looked for weapons in every room she entered to protect herself.
Farrow also asked McGowan about her new allegations that she was molested by another “prominent” man in the industry when she was just 15. Farrow revealed the claim to the audience, saying she had told him about a sexual encounter she had with a “very famous” man in Hollywood. Farrow asked the actress if she was ready to reveal his name publicly.
“In general? Sure,” she answered. “Right now at this moment? I’ve had a big day.”
McGowan said she was only now leveling the claim because she only recently began to view the encounter as rape.
“This man picked me up when I was 15 years old,” said McGowan. “He took me home after he met me and he showed me a soft porn movie he had made for Showtime, under a different name. And then he had sex with me.” He left her on a street corner, she said.
“In my mind, playing it back, I had been attracted to him, so I always filed it away as a sexual experience,” she said, adding, that until recently she’d always downplayed it as, “‘That creep did this to a 15-year-old.'”
“It was not until two weeks after your story broke — our story, our world’s story — that I was in bed and I started saying, ‘Oh my god. I think that’s molestation,'” said McGowan.
Related: Weinstein Disputes Rose McGowan’s Claims With Two Emails From Ben Affleck And Her Former Manager