In light of the Trump assault allegations, many women have bravely stepped up to tell their own stories of sexual assault. Light has been shed on the reasons women have stayed silent for so long – fear of retribution, the prevalence of victim blaming and discrediting, lack of protection, etc. Their forced silence has brought about the hashtag #WhyWomenDontReport on Twitter. The latest celebrity to join the rising chorus is filmmaker Rose McGowan who revealed that she had been raped years ago by a studio head.
a (female) criminal attorney said because I'd done a sex scene in a film I would never win against the studio head. #WhyWomenDontReport
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 14, 2016
because it's been an open secret in Hollywood/Media & they shamed me while adulating my rapist. #WhyWomenDontReport
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 14, 2016
Because my ex sold our movie to my rapist for distribution #WhyWomenDontReport
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 14, 2016
It is time for some goddamned honesty in this world.
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 14, 2016
Rose has turned away from acting in favor of her activism. She is heavily involved in Emily’s list, recording videos for their movement Women Can Stop Trump. In August, Rose spoke at a rally to unseat the Stanford Rape Case judge and opened with “How many of us here tonight have survived?”. She proceeded to recite an original poem believed to be of her assault. Last year, Rose defiantly posted some casting notes for a Adam Sandler movie asking those women auditioning to wear tight and revealing clothing. That act of rebellion was likely the reason she got fired from her agency. Rose does not name the studio head she says raped her. Although outlets claim this has left people scrambling to figure out who it is, nobody is offering up their thoughts currently – just in case we thought the studio system had died.
For most of us, the volume of assault accusations has weighed heavily on us. Every day, the veil is pulled back a little farther of how institutionalized rape culture is in our society. As unsettling as it is to be woken up to society’s horrific underbelly of misogyny, racism, homophobia and religious discrimination, they are all finally being given a voice. If 2016 is known for anything positive, it I will be the year that made it impossible to claim you had no idea. Let’s hope 2017 will be known for the year we did something about it.
Photo Credit: Twitter and WENN and Fame/Flynet Photos
Wow. She looks like grown-up Eleven. But why she doesn’t name her raper? That would be such a brave act.
She probably doesn’t have any prove and is scared of getting sued for defamatoin. If it’s a studio head he probably has a lot more power than Rose.
I think it’s a brave act to open up about it even without naming the rapist.
She’d probably get sued to high heaven if she named him, and she’d probably lose without rock solid evidence. The victims often have to weigh up whether being dragged through that is worth it. Sigh. I’m so sad that this happened to her.
I’m not sure that I believe that there’s a single woman in Hollywood who hasn’t experienced sexual assault or predatory behaviour.
I agree with Linn; she’d probably get slapped with a defamation suit.
The thing is, her rapist knows who he is…and the terror he is feeling right now, the fear of somehow being exposed, is also quite a sweet punishment.
I am so sorry @TheOtherMaria. I feel your pain. Rape is torture and no one understands sometimes. My mom told me all the women are lying about Trumo, so I told her she is calling me a liar. As Weekend Update on SNL said, ‘It’s every little girl’s dream to be known for this!’ Fuck sakes. Sorry, this was for the poster below!
Excuse me? It is a brave act anyway.
+1
Thank you!
I remember my rapist telling the entire school he “hit it” and was called every name under the sun, I never spoke up because I was terrified.
He had an older brother who tried to beat me in broad daylight with witnesses because my rapist’s girlfriend found out—out of 14 people there only 1 held this asshole down, I was merely 15 at the time.
I have never named him publicly except to the one man who defended me years ago (we’re still close friends to this day); I told him who it was a few months ago due an issue he was having with his daughter (thankfully, she wasn’t attacked), he sat there quietly, then started crying because (per his words) he knew there was something wrong with that guy.
Now, if as a teenager I felt this powerless, what do you think an actress in a heavily male populated business is to do?
She came forward with her story, that’s enough, kudos to Rose.
+1
She dated Robert Rodriguez, who sold a film she starred in to the Weinsteins. The belief is that it is Harvey.
Yeah, this is barely a blind item given the details she provided. The only reasonable debate is *which* Weinstein raped her, given that Dimension films is more Bob’s project.
I figured it was a Weinstein brother. Ugh.
Well, all those casting couch stories about Harvey over the years didn’t make me think badly about the actresses involved, as a lot of gossip sites spun it, they made me think it was a coercive situation. And he got busted for groping a woman at a party just recently.
Harvey’s casting couch is legendary. If you don’t have friends in Hollywood Google casting couch and Weinstein rumors.
Soooo…we are boycotting Weinstein productions from now on, right?
Women should also start sharing stories of when they do come out & name their accusers. I did it and my life was almost ruined- my father’s name was dragged because the young man had wealthy parents and they wanted it to go away and knew that was a way to hurt me. I lost family members, friends and went to court which put my life on hold for years (couldn’t move away to college, had to miss classes for meetings, depositions & court). Dating during that time was real fun too. Not to mention the how.many.times I had to re-tell my story to people who were narrowing their eyes, taking notes, huffing and asking me stupid questions. My personal papers and all info (texts, emails, etc) were taken and some dragged out which had nothing to do with my assault but could ‘paint a good picture of who I was’ including every boy I ever slept with and every friend I ever did drugs with- who and what. Not in court but depositions are all fair game, recorded and in a room full of suits staring at you.
The abuse doesn’t stop once you come forward- it’s just a new onslaught. The idea that a woman doesn’t do the ‘right thing’ by immediately naming her accuser and calling the cops has got to change because our system re-victimizes them. I don’t even want to get into the cops & detectives that I had to tell my rape to- they need some frickin’ training, stat. So I would have done nothing wrong had I packed my bags, moved towns, gone to college & started fresh. Women shouldn’t be put down or felt like they ‘should’ name names until we fix our broken system and start protecting them.
ETA: I barfed that out but wanted to add for any woman thinking of coming forward that it was difficult (a while ago too) but the best decision I ever made & I am glad every day that I did it. I just never a judge a woman who doesn’t. If you speak out then have support and find support (and good support!)- it’s out there waiting. My rapist spent a few months in jail and I got to tell my story. I carry that every day as a gift that I got that most victims never get.
Thank you for sharing THAT part of your story, too. Hearing victims’ experiences with the system dispels rape culture by opening our eyes to the barriers of reporting/getting out of ongoing abusive situations. I’m glad your rapist was punished.
+1
I did’t come forward because most of the evening was consensual. It was when he wanted to get into my back door and I declined that things took a turn for the bad.
So I would have to face the skepticism from his camp, the police and the court that comes with most of the night being consensual.
Occasionally I have a reminder of that night because he did my back door without protection and he left me with a gift that keeps on giving.
Olga, Why didn’t she name her rapist?
On twitter Kelly Oxford asked women tweet to her about their experiences of sexual assault, sexual abuse and rape. Millions of women tweeted. Check it out and find out why women didn’t report. Prepare for angry heartbreak when you find out what happened to the women who did report.
Okay why wouldn’t she name him?
Well it would be a he said she said.
He would be defended by those in the business, she would be reviled and harrassed.
Every choice she’s ever made in her life would suddenly be under scrutiny and questioned, as to prove why she could only be making it up.
If there’s any legal skirmish it could give her financial trouble.
This and any harrassment as a result could go on and on, even when the world’s moved on from the story.
I don’t know why after Amber Heard, “villainess!”Angelina, Trump and the attitude to his victims, people even ask that question. (I mean, even after all of the disgusting offensiveness and entitlement, and testimony out there Trump is still going about his predatory business unperturbed.)
Even if it had happened to her yesterday there would be no guarantee of a criminal win against him in court, as she pointed out, or even any kind of concviction.
If she’s said it was an open secret and her then bf sold the film to this guy as a distributor then there’s probably enough to do detective work on and that’s probably as close as she can go.
Also, I’d be pretty sure that this studio head isn’t worried because he probably either doesn’t see it as rape, or if he does is quite aware how perceptions of her image and circumstances can play out in his favour (hate to say it but he’s probably done it before). Not to mention if he is in control of film distribution in any way, a lot of people will likely run to his defence just to protect their own interests.
She’s also quite likely seen what’s happened to other actors in similar positions that named names. It’s probably an open secret because the business has a ton of casualties that everybody knows about but don’t mention. So she knows the terrain better than we do, frankly. It might be brave but it would likely be far more damaging to her more than to the pig who raped her.
I’m pretty convinced there’s a ton of sexual grooming and preying and violation that goes on in HW. You only have to look as how fast people backtrack on statements about sexism, or pedo rings, or avoid saying anything that could be perceived as inflammatory. And truth be told people forget about half of these stories in a hot minute when the spotlight or media scrutiny is gone.
HW is an industry that can’t take any criticism for a reason, and where you have a lack of consequences you have an enviroment ripe for abuses. I suspect it chews up a lot of promising people and those who survive it know that.
People ignorant of it trappings probably have the best view of it, once you’re behind the curtain – unless you’ve been lucky – you’ve probably had some moment of being exploited by which you can either pack it in entirely or push to succeed anyway.
Anyway tl,rl: it would hurt her more than it would hurt him.
<3 FF
I’m really starting to believe that EVERY woman has been sexually assaulted or violated at least once in their lives. Me, personally, twice. My first when i was 7 and the most recent when i was 16. I have two younger sisters who i so desperately want to protect from being violated in the same way. But judging from the comments i have seen of people DEFENDING Trump (way, way too many), rape culture is still clearly very much entrenched in our society. Ya’ll… i’m just so exhausted from how the elections have been covered lately…
This rape culture is so true. My own husband wouldn’t let go of trump until I put our daughters face on the crimes. It shouldn’t take that to get people to understand.
That shit makes me so angry. A woman shouldn’t have to be defined by her relationship to a man to exist as a more than an abstract victim.
Three weeks. Hold on. I think we’re all beyond tired and I, for one, don’t even live in the States. Goddamn it, this orange waste of space needs to vanish.
Okay here’s what I don’t get about Trump. He’s not the primary concern, the environment and culture enabling him will just enable someone else once he’s gone.
Getting rid of him is a temporary goal.
What I don’t understand is a culture/environment that isn’t held up for the scathing criticism and scrutiny it should be when it forms a bedrock for entitled white males over a certain paygrade and or public popularity so large and encompassing that any guy meeting those requirements can feel so secure on that entitlement and protective privilege that he can run for the highest in the country and probably world, all while being derogatory, prejudiced, dismissive, and prdatory af and still feel confident tpvbe in the running but free to continue all of the above.
Do people really think this just ends with Trump or is it just less depressing to focus on him alone as if his sustained run isn’t indicative of a much larger problem? (Tbh, if it’s the latter, I think I could understand. The former though, no.)
I have started to believe that it’s vital to sign our daughters up for martial arts classes when they’re young. Better that they break an attacker’s arm than get raped.
Flan – let me tell you how empowering that can be for them. I started up with martial arts nearly 3 years ago and I’m in my 30s. Not only has it given me much more confidence, but I’ve also developed skills that could one day save my life or someone else’s. It makes me feel a little safer and like I might have more control if God-forbid a situation ever arise. I originally started doing it for fitness purposes, and still do – but I’ve learned SO much too. Hopefully I’ll never have to resort to these things outside of my training. Send them, you will not regret it!
Perhaps more importantly, teach her to recognise the signs, overt and subtle, of toxic masculinity, and to avoid including boys/men with these traits in her friendship circles. Because she is more likely to be coerced into unwanted sex by someone she knows than she is to need to deploy self defence skills against a stranger danger attacker.
Don’t imply to her that sexual abuse is always overtly violent because it isn’t and believing that it is can be dangerous.
That said, I think martial arts classes are great for girls to do!
That sounds like a great idea! I’ve been thinking about it for myself too.
That being said, I can’t wait till the day when the conversation shifts from “how can we prepare our young girls to recognize the warning signs of abuse, or defend themselves from attacks?” to “how can we teach our young boys that abusive behavior is not OK?” and “how can perpetrators of sexual abuse/assault best be identified and held responsible for their actions to the full extent of the law?”
When dealing with other crimes we don’t put the primary focus on the victim preventing it. When someone’s house gets broken into, we don’t put the primary blame on them because they didn’t get ADT when they first moved in. We blame the criminal. And in most cases, the police take the crime seriously, just about every child has had drilled into them that stealing is bad, and people suspected of theft are investigated, and prosecuted when there is evidence to support it.
We as a society have to send a clear message that this is not OK. As long as there are people defending and rationalizing Trump’s admitting to sexual assault, we are not there and this problem with not go away.
Amen. I’ve written here about my assault, and I came out publicly against Trump on FB and briefly outlined my experience as a survivor. You wouldn’t believe the mental gymnastics people go through to excuse him.
I’ve always felt for Rose-she obviously had some issues (which, clearly, being a woman in HW either caused or exacerbated), she went through that horrible car crash…Good for her for coming out as a survivor. To be honest, EACH woman that comes out makes it easier for the next woman to speak. Each act of bravery makes the woman before feel less alone.
You’re absolutely right–just about every woman has a story. I just read the same thing being said, I believe it was by Liz Plank. Hundreds of women were asked and every single woman had a story to tell. It’s so upsetting me to me how many people, women included, wanted to just write off those stupid remarks Trump made as “just the way men talk.” That is NOT good enough. We need to break that mold and move away from that antiquated stereotype. It isn’t OK for men to talk that way, it isn’t OK to enable them by saying it’s just men being men. This is how men become brazen enough to assault and/or harass.
What upsets me even more is when mothers of sons act like there is nothing they can do about it. Raise your son to be the anomaly. I have posted this on this site a billion times, but I’ll keep saying it: this is why I adore Amber Rose and what she’s doing for women. She is the only person with a public platform that I’ve ever heard/read say that she vows to raise her son to be a feminist and not only be the kind of man who DOESN’T put women down, but also the kind who speaks up and defends women when other guys do it. Our society needs more of that. That is how things begin to change. People need to stop not only enabling but also defending men who behave this way, and they need to be called out repeatedly.
I have been raped (18) and sexually harassed at work (24). I told my manager and was told I would get a written letter of apology. Never got the letter, but I saw the guy years later and told his much younger wife to be careful. I did not care what they thought of me because he was sick. When I told my own parents about my assault, my father did not believe me. That hurt the most. Then yesterday, I know it’s taken a while, he apologized for never telling me about the predators of the world.
I have. He wanted to go back door. I didn’t. He took advantage of cuddling to have his way. Left me with a gift to boot.
Profoundly disturbing, but also inspiring and empowering. Hecate, your thoughts about this are spot-on and this post got a giant “hell yes!” on this lovely Monday morning. Just well done. Thank you.
Yes! The whole last paragraph, but especially “If 2016 is known for anything positive, it I will be the year that made it impossible to claim you had no idea. Let’s hope 2017 will be known for the year we did something about it.” had me punching the air.
Me too. In so many ways ugly things went underground during the height of political correctness. Hopefully, now we can address the issues and put them in the dustbin of history. Instead of shouting down other people which doesn’t change a person’s mind. It shuts them up. But it doesn’t change their mind.
My guess for the the ex that sold the movie is director Robert Rodriguez.
Which makes Weinstein the rapist I think?
A site I visit had their money on Bob.
He does not have a savoury reputation.
I’ve heard casting couch rumours for decades now? Which means they’ve been around for longer
I think so too. I hope he gets taken down.
It would seem her one comment–about her partner selling their movie would lend clues. Robert Rodriguez was her boyfriend/fiancée and the did Grindhouse and Machete. They were released by Dimension (Weinstein Bros) and 20th Century Fox respectively whose leaders then were Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman (now at Sony). I don’t think she was involved with anyone else who made movies?
Does she have to be more specific? It’s Weinstein/Dimension. Why are the rumors and consequences always faced by the actresses he assaults rather than him? Disgusting.
He’s not the only skeevy producer/studio head out there, he’s just the most visible. Every single sexual assault/sexual harassment claim or rumour gets tied to him, and some of them probably should, but he’s not the only one and acting like he is means the larger problem is ignored.
She is really brave and it pisses me off to no end that these monsters get away with it. She obviously is the first and only victim and these guys continue to get money, power, and fear (probably respect from others like them) and women just have to deal with it. It’s so sick. I hope hell is real and they all suffer greatly for the heinous acts they have committed.
I think this new openness may be the one – ONE – good thing that this Trump debacle has brought us. If anything, women are finally speaking out. I’ve never been assaulted or even groped and I’m beginning to realize I belong to a tiny tiny minority of women in the entire world. Years ago I read somewhere it’s one in four women. That seems way too optimistic. It’s compeltely insane and hard to grasp. I really wish every fellow woman who has a story like that all the strength in the world to tell her story if she wants to. And every man too.
For years I’ve thought one in four was too optimistic. I was at a party some years ago where there were 20 women of different ages and from different places. We started discussing this topic and all but one had been sexually assaulted or molested before the age of 18.
I thought the 1 in 4 was for rape specifically and sexual assault was like 75% (which isn’t high enough if you ask me if you’re including being groped). I’ve had my butt and boobs grabbed many times. I’ve also been “hugged” from behind without notice from strangers or a coworker once which actually feels worse I think.
I thought it included assault/molestation but I’m not sure. It definitely never included groping or other forms of aggression.
Blind items all point to weinstein. Didn’t she post a huge hint and then delete the tweet?
What is clear just reading the comments is that by not naming her attacker, this is turned into a guessing game..was it x, y, z? It paints all three with the same brush, and that doesn’t help other women in her situation. If the guy is really a predator, it takes one brave victim to speak out.
If nothing else, Trump’s assaults have opened a most open forum for this country to face the harsh reality of rape culture. This is how change works.
Exactly. I’m desperately looking for anything positive to take away from the horror that is the Trump candidacy (there’s nothing positive about the man himself) and I think this may be it: it’s really opened up a societal discussion about sexual assault, the rape culture, and the men who implicitly endorse it (a la that scumbag Billy Bush). I saw a great article on Slate that ties this moment to the Anita Hill moment and how long it’s taken but we’re finally making some progress (at least in awareness, if nothing else).
Brave woman. That sounds trite maybe but she has guts. If it is Weinstein, like a couple of posters are saying, imagine how scary it would be to not only have that guy assault you, but not just ” go away” later. He has so much power and she has so little….and yet she is standing up for herself and for the bigger issue of assault. Guts.
Trying not to overanalyze her looks, but her shaved head and baggy clothes definitely seem like some sort of reaction/defiance to years of being uber-sexualized for Hollywood.
She is a beautiful woman. I miss her hir though. I’ve always had Rose hair envy. But you control what you can when the rest has spiraled away…
She looks great with a shaved head. I have a tiny head and couldn’t get away with it.
Yeah, it’s hard not to think that. I had some thoughts about her changed appearance as well. It’s as if she was either never comfortable with her sexy look/image or she associates it with her negative experiences. It’s not like she isn’t styled or doesn’t wear makeup. But the style itself couldn’t be more different. She looks great now and she did before. I loved her on Charmed, she was so cute.
Wren33, I agree with your thought about her changed look being a reaction to her rape. She kind of went from Sexy Hollywood Starlet to Woke Warrior Woman. I see her style change as reclaiming her body and her activism as reclaiming her power. I did something similar, at first it was for a sense of protection, but it evolved into empowerment. Survive and thrive, Rose McGowan. Survive and thrive!
Rose McGowan projected an overly sexual image for a long time and even not knowing about her assault it was pretty clear that her relationship with Rodriguez left her chewed up and spit out; I don’t know if anyone remembers the public rejection she got when he announced plans to have her star in a remake of Red Sonja, and then not long after they broke up. If he left her hanging in the wind about this? I agree that it seems like she’s reclaiming her own image and her own body – she seemed like she was trying for a long time to fit into a mold. Considering her background of growing up in a cult, I wonder if ‘sexy’ was the mold she was comfortable putting herself into, or all she felt that she offered.
.
I’m a PTSD survivor myaelf, I have been through the whole mking yourself unattractive to keep people at a distances thing. The
last place i would have been during those days wou!d have been in front of cameras. So yeah, don’t make those kinds of judgements. It is ignorant, stigmatizing and unfair to Rose. She is very brave to be this open and public about her trauma and that is indicative of having made significant progress towards healing. Praise her instead of scrutinizing her. That kind of scrutiny of how “damaged” we are is another reason trauma survivors often stay silent.
I used to always wonder why so many actresses would go unhinged, but I always assumed it was money and fame… Now I wonder how many of them have similar stories that drive them to drugs, alcohol, and other self-destructive behaviors. 🙁
Timbuktu, that is as sad and astute observation. It’s awful to think about how much sexual assault occurs in that industry and that women may be self medicating to cope with the aftermath.
It’s not just actresses. Lots of children and young men are preyed on.
The young boys probably fly more under the radar when acting out/imploding/spiraling. A lot get chewed up and forgotten about, tbh.
I mean they’ve only recently passed a law I think forcing background checks (someone correct me if I’m wrong, I know it was a law that forced them to make the working environment safer for children but basically the idea is that a law had to be passed to force the occurrence of). They barely bothered before and convicted child predators could end up working in evironments with children with no one knowing because no one had done any real checking.
What I’m trying to say here is that people in the business who succeed undamaged are rare, lucky, or got out before it could happen. I’m pretty sure everyone has some kind of experience though – although some would choose not to see it as such while they are still successful – the difference only being the severity and severity of effect on that person.
But I think if you’ve had nothing but positive experiences in HW, I want to hear what you have to say again in 20-30 years from now.
Combine that with the huge prevalence of eating disorders, constant scrutiny of their looks and then this, yeah I can see it. There’s no amount of money out there that could convince me being famous is worth it.
A Guest in Real Time with Bill Maher (which I do NOT make a Habit of Watching cause he can be the Worst So I really have to be into the Guests) was saying that what men or many men don’t realize about Last week and what Michelle’s Speech was about is that we can even Rejoice on the Implosion of the GOP as a Slow car crash or any of that, when all these Stories and that Tape came out all it was was a GIGANTIC Trigger to every women that has experience this kind of abuse in big and in small ways, we’ve all deal with some fashion of this crap and a Lot of Us thought we were alone with our disgusting experiences.
It’s true…he gets a lot of praise from the left wing media, but in my opinion he is one of the biggest misogynists out there.
Sometimes I wonder if there are any women that have never experienced any form of sexual assault. It seems to be such a frightening norm. Like, we somehow are just supposed to sit there and take it. I work on an ambulance. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been groped or had guys say nasty things, even going so far as saying they “want to rape” me. Nothing is done about it, ever. It’s just part of the job. And that’s not even the stuff us women deal with at bars or simply out on the streets.
“If 2016 is known for anything positive, it I will be the year that made it impossible to claim you had no idea. Let’s hope 2017 will be known for the year we did something about it.” That is a beautifully eloquent article for a gossip site! We’ll written Hecate!! Thank you for such positive hope!
More of this. I love her now. I only know her from the Charmed series and now I am so impressed and inspired by Rose. I think the more we talk, the more power we reclaim.
Rhymes with Shmarvey Shmeinstein
It’s an underground rumor that one of the Weinsteins is a serial rapist of actresses.
Underground how? Weinstein is a known creep, he’s basically Cosby a couple of years ago = everybody knows, it’s just going to take some brave women standing up to admit it. Which in Hollywood is a big ask, as I imagine most of them are working or trying to be working actresses. I get the feeling Rose is going to spill eventually, she has been giving Hollywood the middle finger for a while now and calling the systme on its sexist b.s. with the casting, etc..
I am literally sickened just thing about this. She has been through so much.
And the thought of serial rapist because of casting power is nauseating!
No one is safe in Hollywood. It’s a wonder anyone escapes unsheathed.
I commend her for speaking out. It’s not easy, especially in a public forum.