A triumphant Rose McGowan walked onto the stage at the Women’s Convention in Detroit on Friday with one hand balled into a fist and raised high over her head, marking her first public appearance since accusing Harvey Weinstein of rape.
‘I have been silenced for 20 years. I have been slut-shamed. I have been harassed. I’ve been maligned. And you know what? I’m just like you,’ McGowan told those assembled at the event.
‘Because what happened to me behind the scenes, happens to all of us in this society. And that cannot stand, and it will not stand.’
McGowan was allegedly raped by Harvey Weinstein at the Sudance Film Festival in 1997, and The New York Times reported earlier this month that she received a $100,000 settlement in the wake of the incident.
That settlement also required her to sign an NDA, but two weeks ago McGowan very publicly threw caution to the wind by alleging on Twitter that Weinstein was her rapist.
In the wake of that bravery, other victims and Weinstein’s own employees have spoken out as well, despite also signing NDAs.
Hear her roar: Rose McGowan spoke at the Women’s Convention in Detroit on Friday morning (above), her first public appearance since the Harvey Weinstein story broke
Brave: McGowan spoke about banding together to put an end to sexual harassment and assault two weeks after publicly accusing Weinstein of rape
‘We are free. We are strong. We are one massive collective voice,’ McGowan told those assembled, who she referred to as her fellow ‘me toos’ at one point.
‘That is what RoseArmy is about. It’s about all of being roses in our own life. Not me, but the actual flower because we have thorns, and our thorns carry justice. And our thorns carry consequence.’
She wen ton to state: ‘No more will be shunted to the side. No more will be hurt. It’s time to be whole. It’s time to rise. It’s time to be brave.’
McGowan then said that these predators who harass and assault their victims are ‘monsters,’ and their time is running out.
‘In the face of unspeakable actions, from one monster we look away to another. The head monster of you right now. And they are the same. And they must die,’ said McGowan.
‘The paradigm must be subverted. It is time. We’ve been waiting a very long time for this to happen, but we don’t need to wait anymore because we got this. We got this. I know it!’
McGowan then explained the unique bond she and her ‘sisters,’ ‘allies,’ and brothers’ share
‘We are no nation. We are no country. We belong to no flag. We are a planet of women and you will hear us roar,’ said McGowan.
This Themyscira-esque planet was then further detailed by McGowan.
‘I came to be a voice for all of us who have been told that we are nothing. For all us who have been looked down on. For all of us who have been grabbed by the motherf****ing pussy,’ said McGowan, in a clear nod to President Trump.
‘No more. Name it. Shame it. Call it out. Join Me. Join all of us as we amplify each other’s voices and do what is right for us, for our sisters, and for this planet, Mother Earth.’
She added: ‘There are so many women that inspire me on a daily basis. And if I can be one ounce of that at any moment in time for any of you, I send all of the strength that I have.’
From there, McGowan launched into a diatribe explaining why this current scandal is in no way unique he industry.
‘Hollywood may seem like it’s an isolated thing, but it is not. It is the messaging system for your mind. It is the mirror that you’re given to look in to,’ said McGowan.
‘This is what you are as a woman. This is what you are as a man. This is what you are as a boy, girl, gay straight, transgender but it’s all told through 96% males in the Directors Guild of America. That statistic has not changed since 1946.
‘So we are given one view, and I know the men behind behind that view – and they should not be in your mind and they should not be in mine.’
McGowan then said to the crowd: ‘It’s time to clean house.’