Veteran Hollywood producer Jill Messick, who in recent months found herself caught in the middle of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, has killed herself, her family said in a statement. She was 50.
Messick had been a manager for Rose McGowan in 1997, when the actress says Weinstein raped her — a charge that he has denied.
McGowan has been one of Weinstein’s most vocal accusers and her public shaming of him helped bring other women with allegations to the forefront.
Messick, who was executive producer the films Masterminds and Baby Mama, had bipolar disorder and depression, her family said. Nevertheless, in a statement, the family strongly suggests that finding herself in the middle of the high-profile Weinstein-McGowan story drove her to take her own life.
“Seeing her name in headlines again and again, as part of one person’s attempt to gain more attention for her personal cause, along with Harvey’s desperate attempt to vindicate himself, was devastating for her,” the family said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.