After a suspension earlier in the day from Twitter, actress Rose McGowan forcefully re-emerged Thursday, stating more frankly what she has long suggested: “HW raped me.”
“HW” was apparently in reference to Harvey Weinstein, the embattled former Weinstein Co. co-chairman. Weinstein representative Sallie Hofmeister did not immediately return a message seeking comment, but has said Weinstein “unequivocally denies” “any allegations of non-consensual contact.”
McGowan last year said that she had been raped by a “studio head.” The New Yorker expose that ran Tuesday reported that Weinstein had allegedly sexually assaulted three women, though the third woman was unnamed. The New York Times earlier reported that Weinstein paid a financial settlement of $100,000 to McGowan in 1997. That settlement included provisions about speaking about the case in the future.
But McGowan appeared emboldened Thursday to describe more outright her past experience with Weinstein. Shortly before a series a tweets addressed to Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, McGowan tweeted a woman warrior picture with a “Rosearmy” hashtag and stated “It’s on.”
“I told the head of your studio that HW raped me,” said McGowan in tweets directed to Bezos. “Over and Over I said it. He said it hadn’t been proven. I said I was the proof.”