Rose McGowan goes on Twitter mega-rant ahead of being honored at British GQ's Men of the Year Awards

Suzy Byrne
·Reporter
Rose McGowan, pictured last month, is getting the Inspiration Award at British <em>GQ</em>‘s Men of the Year Awards on Wednesday. (Photo: Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images)
Rose McGowan, pictured last month, is getting the Inspiration Award at British GQ‘s Men of the Year Awards on Wednesday. (Photo: Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images)

Rose McGowan is being honored at British GQ‘s Men of the Year Awards on Wednesday — and delivered what seemed to be a preshow speech on Twitter ahead of picking up the Inspiration Award.

While we predict she’ll deliver a doozy of a speech later — she’s the first woman to receive the prize in recognition of her “strength and bravery” in making the Harvey Weinstein accusations public and her subsequent involvement in the #MeToo movement — McGowan warmed up in a series of at times confusing tweets on Wednesday. She started out talking about how being told what to wear to a red carpet event triggers her “Hollywood PTSD” as a “survivor of the Hollywood former sex symbol machine,” and said that red carpets in general have “brought me trauma” for years.

From there, McGowan, who is also celebrating her 45th birthday Wednesday, went on to rip Weinstein, whom she accused of rape (the disgraced producer has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex), for being at the root of her problems — on the red carpet and off. “I was/am Number One on his hit list,” she wrote and said he went to great lengths to “character assassinate” her using “the Weinstein machine’s PR network, bought of journalists across the board of papers, sites, magazines.” She also railed against the media for suggesting she was never blacklisted by Weinstein, as she claimed to be. “I was SHAMED. SHAMED by collusion and the glee of those who desire to grind down a beautiful and free mind who just happened to have a beautiful shell. You PUNISHED me because of your personal values and your deep character flaws.”

Additional targets were Michael Eisner, the former head of Disney, which acquired Weinstein’s film company Miramax decades ago, and her “enabling manager, agency and management office.” (McGowan’s ex-manager Jill Messick killed herself in February after the Weinstein accusations came out — and McGowan found herself dragged into it.)

McGowan had kind words for her #RoseArmy following, and gave shout-outs to #MeToo founder Tarana Burke as well as Alyssa Milano, who got #MeToo to go viral, “for creating a common language for survivors to speak. You are noted and appreciated for your work.”

There were a lot of confusing posts in between, but her general points toward the end were that we need to work harder. “I believe we have it in all of us to be ten percent better humans,” she said. “Including me. As a representative of those who are voiceless, thank you for hearing out.”

Oh, and she finally did say what she would be wearing — which was the start of her diatribe. A “robin egg blue sheath dress” by TopShop that she got for $20 with a jacket by Osman, vegan shoes by Stella McCartney, and “my winning smile.” Her date will be “my love,” Rain Dove, “who’s brought water energy to my fire. They have allowed me space [to] heal and to explore showing my softer side to the outside world. Reminding me always to be what I say I am.”

Here are all the tweets if you are feeling it:

Speaking of Dove, the American model and activist (who prefers nongendered pronouns) got into a Twitter war of words with their (and McGowan’s) former friend Asia Argento earlier Wednesday. Dove was the one who provided screenshots of a text conversation with Argento in which she admitted having sex with former child star Jimmy Bennett, whom she agreed to pay a monetary settlement to after he claimed she sexually assaulted him in 2013. (He was 17 at the time, below the age of consent.) The actress, who initially denied any sexual relationship with Bennett, now says he assaulted her.

McGowan was good friends with Argento as prominent voices in the #MeToo movement. However, they are no longer friends since the Bennett settlement was made public, with McGowan saying Argento “betrayed” her.

The British GQ Men of the Year Awards will take place Wednesday night, so stay tuned for an even more passionate speech — and digs at Weinstein — from McGowan.

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