Rose McGowan ripped into fashionista Donna Karan on Monday after the DKNY head defended Harvey Weinstein and suggested that women might be ‘asking for trouble’ by the way they dress.
Karan, a long-time friend of Weinstein, described the disgraced film producer – who has been accused of sexual harassment and assault by a string of women over decades – as ‘wonderful’ in an exclusive DailyMail.com interview.
She added: ‘You look at everything all over the world today and how women are dressing and what they are asking by just presenting themselves the way they do. What are they asking for? Trouble.’
McGowan, who has been vocal about the abuse she has experienced in the industry, then shared a screenshot of the DailyMail.com story with the message: ‘Donna Karan you are a DEPLORABLE.
‘Aiding and abetting is a moral crime. You are scum in a fancy dress.’
Rose McGowan ripped into fashion designed Donna Karan on Twitter on Monday, following an interview with DailyMail.com in which Karan suggested that some of the women hurt by Harvey Weinstein ‘may have been asking for trouble’
McGowan (left with Weinstein in 2007) reportedly sued him after an incident in the 1990s, but was legally forced not to speak about it in the settlement. Karan (right) defended Weinstein on Sunday, saying he and his wife are ‘wonderful’
According to The New York Times report that initiated Weinstein’s downfall this week, McGowan sued the producer in the 1990s but settled out of court for $100,000.
In doing so, she had to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) forbidding her from talking about the case.
She hasn’t named Weinstein directly in any of her Twitter comments so far, but has referred obliquely to abuse that she sustained.
Last year, she tweeted under the hashtag #WhyWomenDontReport with the message ‘Because my ex sold our movie to my rapist for distribution’.
And on Sunday she posted a photo of herself taken in March 1997 at the Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles, writing: ‘This is the girl that was hurt by a monster. This is who you are shaming with your silence.’
That picture was taken just two months after an incident occurred between McGowan and Weinstein inside a hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival.
So it’s not surprising that Karan’s remarks, made while she was attending the CinéFashion Film Awards on Sunday, would upset her.
‘To see it here in our own country is very difficult, but I also think how do we display ourselves? How do we present ourselves as women?’ the 69-year-old asked.
‘What are we asking? Are we asking for it by presenting all the sensuality and all the sexuality?
‘And what are we throwing out to our children today about how to dance and how to perform and what to wear? How much should they show?’
McGowan took to Twitter to share a photo of herself in her 20s on Sunday, writing: ‘This is the girl that was hurt by a monster. This is the girl who you are shaming with your silence’
Harvey Weinstein (seen here Friday) was fired from his own firm on Sunday after the board – including his brother – decided he had to go
Weinstein was fired from The Weinstein Company – which he founded with his brother Bob in 2005 – on Sunday.
He was fired at the agreement at the four remaining members of the board, including Bob; four others had already resigned in the days previous.
Bob Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar said they were firing him ‘In light of new information about misconduct… that has emerged in the past few days’; they had ordered an independent investigation on Friday.
As Weinstein realized his number was up, he wrote to several celebrity friends begging for help.
‘My board is thinking of firing me. All I’m asking is, let me take a leave of absence and get into heavy therapy and counseling,’ wrote Weinstein in the email, which was read by one of the recipients to Janice Min.
‘Whether is be in a facility or somewhere else, allow me to resurrect myself with a second chance.’
Min later said that Ron Meyer, David Zaslav and Jeffrey Katzenberg were among those who refused to back him.
She also tweeted: ‘One big player who refused to respond positively to Weinstein’s email plea tells me he replied in essence: “no f-ing chance.”‘
Maerov spoke to the The New York Times after Weinstein was dropped, saying that there was concern among his fellow board members after Weinstein and his attorney Lisa Bloom met with them on Thursday night.
Bloom told the board that that they could expect ‘more and different reporting’ that included ‘photos of several of the accusers in very friendly poses with Harvey after his alleged misconduct,’ Maerov said.
‘This is not the time for Harvey or TWC to appear defiant or indignant,’ wrote Maerov in an email to Bloom. ‘It is time to repair, heal, accept responsibility and recover.’
In another email to Bloom, Bob Weinstein wrote: ‘Perhaps, Harvey as he stated in the NY Times, to the world, should get professional help for a problem that really exists.’
Rose McGowan tweeted that the team that produced the NYT article had ‘saved lives’ with their ‘bravery’
Rose McGowan posted a series of Tweets on Sunday as news of Weinstein’s firing emerged
Just a few hours after McGowan posted her ‘monster’ tweet on Sunday, the board of the Weinstein Company announced that they were terminating their founder in the wake of what they claim are newly discovered allegations.
‘In light of new information about misconduct by Harvey Weinstein that has emerged int the past few days, the directors of the Weinstein Company – Robert Weinstein, Lance Maerov, Richard Koenigsberg and Tarak Ben Ammar – have determined an have informed Harvey Weinstein, that his employment with The Weinstein Company is terminated, effective immediately,’ the board wrote in a statement.
It was a sudden move for the board, who on Friday said that Weinstein had taken an indefinite leave of absence.
Questions remain however about how the board was so in the dark given the number of settlements that have been paid out, with the first going back to an incident that happened in 1991 according to the Times.
Weinstein responded in a statement by saying that he was getting help, but then shortly after threatened to sue the paper for $50 million.
Board member Lance Maerov spoke to the The New York Times after the decision to terminate Weinstein on Sunday and that said that the executive had also violated the company’s code of conduct in the past week.
He did not offer any additional details.
Maerov also revealed that there was much concern after Weinstein and his attorney Lisa Bloom met with the board on Thursday night.
The lawyer told the group that they could expect ‘more and different reporting’ that included ‘photos of several of the accusers in very friendly poses with Harvey after his alleged misconduct.’
That same night a handout photo of Weinstein and a smiling Judd appeared in the New York Post alongside a statement from the Oscar-winning producer.
‘This is not the time for Harvey or TWC to appear defiant or indignant,’ wrote Maerov in an email to Bloom.
‘It is time to repair, heal, accept responsibility and recover.’
He also wrote that Bloom had a potential conflict of interest given that Weinstein had agreed to develop a book she wrote into a series.
In another email to Bloom, Harvey’s brother and partner Bob wrote: ‘Perhaps, Harvey as he stated in the NY Times, to the world, should get professional help for a problem that really exists.’
Brave face: Rose McGowan has stepped out for the first time since Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexually harassing multiple female employees and movie stars
Victims: Ashley Judd (left in 1997) and Rose McGowan (right) were revealed to be two of Weinstein’s alleged victims by the Times
McGowan posted several other related tweets to her page Friday evening
McGowan told Hollywood actresses to ‘get brave,’ while applauding those who spoke out
The actress, 44, who is one of Weinstein’s accusers, took to her Twitter page Friday evening to share some careful words to her famous counterparts
On Friday, one-third of the nine-man board resigned in protest, 24-hours after the sexual harassment report threw the firm into chaos.
The company also stated that they were launching an internal probe into the claims against their disgraced co-founder.
And as the backlash grew, graphic revelations appeared in Huffington Post, claiming that Weinstein cornered a New York reporter and forcibly made her watch him masturbate in front of her.
Lauren Sivan, formerly a Fox News Reporter, claims that when she worked with the cable channel Long Island 12 a decade ago, Weinstein insisted she take a tour with him in Socialista, a club he part-owned.
She claims he took her downstairs to a kitchen and cleared it of staff and then tried to kiss her. When she refused his advance he said, ‘Well, can you just stand there and shut up’.
The movie mogul is then alleged to have masturbated in front of her and ejaculated into a nearby flower pot.
Sivan says she was trapped and intimidated and deeply shocked.
That same night McGowan first asked why there was so much silence from the Hollywood community, stating: ‘Ladies of Hollywood, your silence is deafening.’
Given the number of lawsuits that the company has settled over the years there is of course a chance that some of these women cannot speak because they signed a NDA or do not want to speak on account of their own personal experiences.
That would not however stop any of these women from publicly declaring that they support and believe McGowan and Judd.
The most encouraging tweet from a member of the Hollywood community came from ‘Girls’ producer Jenni Konner, who said on Thursday: ‘Who are the agents/managers that sent their clients to meet with him when this was a well known “secret”? Them nxt.’
Dark: McGowan shared a cryptic tweet not long after Weinstein (pictured on Thursday night) was accused of sexually harassing multiple female employees and movie stars
Georgina Chapman was seen leaving her Manhattan home on Friday morning, marking the first time she has been seen in public since her husband’s decades of sexual harassment were revealed on Thursday.
The Marchesa designer appeared morose but did manage to flash a smirk as she made her way out of the $15million townhouse she shares with Harvey Weinstein an hour after her husband headed off to work.
Weinstein exited the home on Friday carrying some papers under his arm and flashing a big smile as he made his way to the waiting SUV outside, with his trip to the office coming less than 24 hours after he informed the Times that he was taking a leave of absence.
The embattled Hollywood heavyweight appeared surprisingly upbeat and chipper, especially given the fact that his board will be voting on Friday afternoon on whether or not to cut all ties to the founder and namesake of the company.
He is also facing new allegations of improper conduct, with British actress Jessica Hynes taking to Twitter on Friday and writing: ‘I was offered a film role at 19, Harvey Weinstein came on board and wanted me to screen test in a bikini. I refused & lost the job.’
She then added: ‘I’m sure there are many more…’
Hynes, who earlier in her career went by Jessica Stevenson, in now 44 and has starred in the two most recent ‘Bridget Jones’ films as well as number of theatrical productions, being nominated for a Tony in 2009 for her role in ‘The Norman Conquests’ on Broadway.
Her claim is remarkably similar to a blind item that has been floating around for over a decade, and is well known to many in Hollywood.
Writer and comedian Jack Howard noted that, replying to Hynes: ‘Holy s*** I knew the story but I didn’t know who it was about.’
Hynes did not reveal what the film was, but it would have been around 1991 or 1992 when Weinstein was beginning his ascent up the ranks in the movie industry while working in London.
It was also in 1991 when he allegedly sexually harassed the first of his many alleged victims who came forward to speak with the Times on the record about his behavior.
Laura Madden said that she was asked by Weinstein to give him massages while he was staying at hotels in Dublin and London at that time.
‘It was so manipulative,’ said Madden.
‘You constantly question yourself — am I the one who is the problem?’
Judd recounted her encounter with Weinstein, saying she was doing night shoots for her 1997 film ‘Kiss the Girls’ when she got an invite to meet with Weinsten that she could not pass up.
She said she felt uncomfortable from the start and ordered cereal from room service because it would arrive quicker than a hot meal.
Judd said she was asked to give Weinstein a massage and then a shoulder rub, both of which she declined while trying to get herself out of the room.
That is when he allegedly asked her to help him pick out his clothes for the day and then watch him shower.
‘I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask,’ said Judd.
‘It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining.’
She eventually made her escape by joking that Weinstein would have to help her win an Oscar before she would be willing to touch him, stating that the prestige of working for his studio made it too difficult to forcefully shut down his harassment.
‘There’s a lot on the line, the cachet that came with Miramax,’ explained Judd.
Judd previously wrote about the same experience in 2015 for Variety without naming Weinstein, simply saying it was a studio mogul.
‘I was with a bunch of other actors, and it was critical that it was actors: The exact same thing had happened to them by the exact same mogul,’ wrote Judd.
‘Only when we were sitting around talking about it did we realize our experiences were identical. There was a mutual strengthening and fortification of our resolve.’
She later wrote in that piece: ‘The ultimate thing when I was weaseling out of everything else was, “Will you watch me take a shower?” And all the other women, sitting around this table with me, said, “Oh my god – that’s what he said to me too.”‘
WEINSTEIN’S ACCUSERS
Harvey Weinstein has been slammed with multiple accusations of sexual harassment after a report detailing a $100,000 settlement he reportedly made to Rose McGowan in the mid-’90s emerged this week.
Below are some of the women who have accused Weinstein of harassing them, or other women.
Rose McGowan: The actress, who made her breakthrough in 1996 in the Weinstein-produced slasher revival movie Scream, reportedly sued Weinstein after he approached her during production of that movie. She signed a non-disclosure agreement at the close of the suit and has only referred to him obliquely in social media since. On Sunday she referred to being abused by a ‘monster’ and has previously referred to being raped by a studio head.
Ashley Judd: Judd’s film roles include the thriller Kiss the Girls – and says that during the filming of that movie Weinstein repeatedly asked her to watch him shower. She was one of the women who spoke out to The New York Times this week, saying: ‘Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it’s simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly.’
Zelda Perkins was 25 when, as an assistant of Weinstein’s in London, she reportedly confronted the mogul for harassing her and ‘several’ other women; she later settled out of court
Lauren O’Connor: A former employee of The Weinstein Company, she told executives there in the fall of 2015 that there was ‘a toxic environment for women at this company’ after one of her colleagues told her that Weinstein had pressured her into massaging him while he was naked, the NYT said.
Ambra Battilana: An Italian actress and model, she told the NYT that in March 2015 Weinstein invited her to his New York office. There, she said, he asked if her breasts were real before grabbing them and putting his hands up her skirt. She reported the alleged incident to police, but they did not press charges. According to the NYT, Weinstein later paid her off.
Laura Madden: An ex-employee, she told the NYT that Weinstein had asked her to give him massages from 1991 onwards, while they were both in London and Dublin. ‘It was so manipulative,’ she told the NYT. ‘You constantly question yourself – am I the one who is the problem?’ Weinstein denied knowledge.
Emily Nestor: Nestor was a temporary employee of the Weinstein Company for just one day in 2014 when Weinstein approached her and offered to boost her career in exchange for sex, the NYT reported.
Zelda Perkins: An assistant of Weinstein’s based in London in 1998; then 25, she reportedly confronted Weinstein after she and ‘several’ others were harassed and later settled out of court.
Elizabeth Karlsen, an Oscar-winning producer, said a female executive told her almost 30 years ago that she had found Weinstein naked in her bedroom in a Miramax-rented property
Elizabeth Karlsen: The Oscar-nominated producer of Carol and The Crying Game, among others, told The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday that almost 30 years ago, an unnamed young female executive who had worked at Miramax with Weinstein had found him naked in her bedroom one night. The exec was in a house rented by Miramax at the time to cut its overheads.
Liza Campbell: A freelance script reader, she told the UK’s Sunday Times that Weinstein had summoned her to his hotel room in London before telling her to get in the bath with him.
Lauren Sivan: The former Fox news host said that Weinstein trapped her in a closed restaurant and masturbated in front of her to completion in 2007. He took her to a closed restaurant beneath a club she had visited and attempted to kiss her, then when she refused he cornered her and made her watch him touch himself, according to The Huffington Post.