Two decades before the #MeToo movement brought symbolic black gowns and #TimesUp pins to the red carpet, actress and activist Rose McGowan wore a black thong and beaded dress to the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.
One of the earliest examples of a red carpet ‘naked dress’ dress, the look created a media storm and set the stage for Rihanna’s Swarovski crystal CFDA outfit in 2014. But McGowan has now revealed that the dress had a deeper significance, as it was the first dress she wore after she was attacked by disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Speaking with The Good Place star Jameela Jamil on her interview series I Weigh, McGowan explained she wore the dress “for a reason”, explaining, “It was my first public appearance after being raped. And I thought, it was kind of like Russell Crowe and Gladiator when it comes out in the ring and he’s like, ‘Are you not entertained?’”
Clarifying that it was a “political statement” and that she had “never worn something like that before or since”, she said, “Of course, there was no Twitter at the time or Instagram, no way to speak for yourself.”
McGowan also writes about the dress in her memoir Brave, saying that it was “a reclamation of my own body after my assault”.
In 1999, McGowan was interviewed about the dress on the Roseanne Show and revealed that at the time she actually had a 103 degree fever (39.4 degrees in Celsius), so she was slightly delirious. She explained she wanted to “cause an entrance, cause a scene” but the dress was only sent to her the night before, which was when she realised the dress was more revealing than she thought.
She explained, “I didn’t realise the front was quite that bare.”
McGowan also explained that she had to sit on her knees in the limo on the way there, explaining, “I had to kneel so I wouldn’t get griddle butt. Girls know what is, like in the summer if you have shorts on and you sit on a chair and you get up and you have like a waffle print.”
She also explained to Jay Leno in the same year that the dress was made entirely out of mesh and beads, but that she actually changed out of the outfit once she went inside the venue. McGowan revealed that she was seated next to Marilyn Manson’s parents (her boyfriend at the time) and she said, “I couldn’t sit next to Barb and Hugh [Manson’s parents]. Granted, their son does a lot worse.”
According to The New York Times, McGowan reached a £76,000 settlement with Harvey Weinstein in 1997, following an “incident in a hotel room” during Sundance Film Festival. Over the course of the New York Times investigation into Harvey Weinstein’s alleged history of sexual misconduct (which he has denied), McGowan claimed that she had been offered £760,000 for her silence on the matter.
While she initially asked for a higher settlement, she later rejected the offer altogether. “I was like - ew, gross, you're disgusting, I don't want your money, that would make me feel disgusting” she told The New York Times.
McGowan initially referred to a “studio head” on Twitter who had sexually assaulted her, before naming him in 2017 as HW (later clarifying that HW stood for Harvey Weinstein to The Hollywood Reporter). The mention of Weinstein’s name came when she attacked Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for reportedly dismissing her claims that Weinstein had raped her.
She tweeted at Jeff Bezos in 2017, “I told the head of your studio that HW raped me. Over & over I said it. He said it hadn’t been proven. I said I was the proof...I forcefully begged studio head to do the right thing. I was ignored.”
She appealed to Bezos, “Be the change you want to see in the world. Stand with truth.”
McGowan was one of the first women to accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and detailed the alleged encounter in her memoir Brave. In her memoir McGowan claimed that following a business meeting at his hotel suite, Weinstein later “held her down on the edge of a jacuzzi and raped her”.
A spokesperson for Weinstein said, “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein.”
Weinstein has been accused of sexual assault by more than 80 women including Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino. Following a wave of allegations, other Hollywood names came forward with their own stories in the #MeToo movement, which was originally coined by the activist Tarana Burke.
Weinstein will face five felony charges which include “two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree, and one count each of first-degree rape and third-degree rape” according to CNN. He has pled not guilty to all charges.
The NHS has a guide to a number of resources for those looking to report and/or seek help following a case of sexual assault. The Rape Crisis helpline can be reached at 008 802 9999 and further assistance can be found at your closest Rape and Sexual Assault Referral Centre, which can be found here.
