Rose McGowan Says She Won’t Get Closure Over Harvey Weinstein ‘Until He’s Dead’
Zack Sharf
The latest episode of Evan Ross Katz’s “Shut Up Evan” podcast features actress and activist Rose McGowan and dropped just a day after Harvey Weinstein was convicted for committing a criminal sex act in the first degree and rape in the third degree. The McGowan interview was recorded before the Weinstein verdict was delivered and she tells Katz that only when Weinstein is dead will she get closure. McGowan came forward on Twitter on October 12, 2017 to accuse Weinstein of raping her. The alleged sexual assault was described in detail in McGowan’s 2018 book “Brave.” McGowan has been at the forefront of the battle against Weinstein and tells Katz that as long as the convicted rapist is alive she will always feel locked in a fight with him.
“Probably not until he’s dead now,” McGowan answered when Katz asked if Weinstein’s trial was providing her a sense of finality to her history with him. “I feel like he and I are strapped in this battle together until one of us is dead. That’s how it goes. I energetically, we’re like just locked. It’s a really disgusting feeling. I just would love to be able to be like other people and live my life. That would be really nice, you know?”
While McGowan might not be able to get closure until Weinstein’s death, she is at least finding comfort in the fact Weinstein is off the streets and can’t harm anyone else. After the Weinstein verdict was announced February 24, McGowan took to social media and wrote, “Today we can exhale. The stinky trash is gone. Thank you to the brave women testifying who took it on the chin to get us over the finish line. Endlessly proud of them. Today the world is safer because he’s not on the streets. Today the world is also smarter than it was pre-2017.”
McGowan continued, “Did you know only 2% of rapes lead to conviction? How messed up is it that it’s an insane privilege to see anything bad happen to your rapist, let alone them go to jail? More work to be done for sure, but today I can say that due to the strengths of many, the prosecutor’s tenacity, the jury who did better than most, and especially the women who took the stand, there is a monster off the streets. Love to you all who’ve shown me support along the way. Deeply appreciated. Goddamn, I can breathe. And maybe, just maybe, learn to hope again.”
Listen to McGowan’s full interview on the “Shut Up Evan” podcast here.
