On Wednesday, actress and Harvey Weinstein-accuser Rose McGowan unleashed on a transgender activist who heckled her during a promotional reading of her memoir “Brave” at a Manhattan Barnes & Noble.
After being repeatedly accused of not caring about transgender women and doing nothing for women, McGowan told the heckler to “f*** off” and expressed her frustration with being assigned “labels” due to immutable qualities.
“I’m mad that you put s*** on me because I have a f***ing vagina and I’m white or I’m black or I’m yellow or I’m purple. F*** off. All of us want to say it. I just do,” she told the audience.
According to Variety, McGowan was answering a pre-submitted question from a fan and an apparent abuse victim who asked how to gain courage to speak out when the heckler addressed the actress for not tending to the transgender movement to their liking.
“I have a suggestion,” yelled the trans activist. “Talk about what you said on RuPaul. Trans women are dying and you said that we, as trans women, are not like regular women. We get raped more often. We go through domestic violence more often. There was a trans woman killed here a few blocks [away]. I have been followed home –.”
McGowan replied: “Hold on. So am I. We are the same. My point was, we are the same. There’s an entire show called ID channel, a network, dedicated to women getting abused, murdered, sexualized, violated, and you’re a part of that, too, sister. It’s the same.”
“You do nothing for them,” accused the heckler. “Trans women are in men’s prisons. And what have you done for them?”
“What have you done for women?” McGowan, now visibly losing her cool, asked.
The heckler was finally removed from the Barnes & Nobel and McGowan let her feelings known:
Don’t label me, sister. Don’t put your labels on me. Don’t you f***ing do that. Do not put your labels on me. I don’t come from your planet. Leave me alone. I do not subscribe to your rules. I do not subscribe to your language. You will not put labels on me or anybody. Step the f*** back. What I do for the f***ing world and you should be f***ing grateful. Shut the f*** up. Get off my back. What have you done? I know what I’ve done, God dammit.
Then the crowd attempted to calm McGowan, telling her not to “worry.” This prompted the actress to address her frustration with labels attached to people simply because of unchangeable elements like race or biological sex.
“I’m not crying, I’m f***ing mad with the lies. I’m mad that you put s*** on me because I have a f***ing vagina and I’m white or I’m black or I’m yellow or I’m purple. F*** off. All of us want to say it. I just do,” she said.
“And you can label this thing as a breakdown,” she said. “That, motherf***ers, is a breakthrough. Maybe not for me, but for you. I might have information you want. I might know s*** that you don’t. So f***ing shut up. Please systemically. For once. In the world. You know what I’m talking about. Just tell the God-damned truth. Stop boxing everybody into s***.”
“I didn’t agree to your cis f***ing world. Ok? F*** off,” McGowan yelled.
“Does anyone have any idea what energy this takes? Any concept?” she asked.
“Trans women are women and what I’ve been trying to say is that it’s the same. The stats are not that dissimilar. When you break it down, it is a much smaller population. There’s not a network here devoted to your f***ing death. There’s not advertisers advertising tampons with a camera lovingly going up a girl’s body as she’s being lovingly raped and strangled. Piss off. And until you can collect that f***ing check, back up. My name is Rose McGowan and I am obviously f***ing brave.”
On Friday, reacting to the news coverage of the exchange with the heckler, McGowan accused those closest to her for again failing her and asked for an apology from the Barnes & Noble where the event was held.
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