McGowan, and other Weinstein accusers’ testimonies brought about the #MeToo movement in Hollywood which led to Weinstein’s conviction as well as shed a light on the rampant sexual abuse in the industry. The actress has also publicly voiced her support for other women who came out with their own #MeToo story.
Recently, the actress took to the micro-blogging site Twitter to slam talk-show host and personality Oprah Winfrey for her past association with Weinstein, as well as producer Russell Simmons, who was accused of rape by three women. In a scathing tweet, McGowan called Winfrey ‘fake’ and accused her of supporting the ‘power structure’ for her gain.
She shared a photo of Winfrey kissing Weinstein on the cheek from 2014.
I am glad more are seeing the ugly truth of @Oprah. I wish she were real, but she isn’t. From being pals with Weinstein to abandoning & destroying Russell Simmon’s victims, she is about supporting a sick power structure for personal gain, she is as fake as they come. #lizard pic.twitter.com/RCuXNpWCU0
— Rose 🌊McGowan (@rosemcgowan) August 29, 2021
She wrote, “I am glad more are seeing the ugly truth of @Oprah. I wish she were real, but she isn’t. From being pals with Weinstein to abandoning & destroying Russell Simmon’s victims, she is about supporting a sick power structure for personal gain, she is as fake as they come. #lizard.”
In the tweet, the actress referred to the recent debate around Oprah Winfrey which started when an old clip from her interview with Dolly Parton went viral. In the video, Winfrey was seen asking Parton how she defied age, before quickly saying, “You’ve been open that you’ve had some work done, some tucks and pulls and sucks.” To this, the singer had said, “Yes, I have and I’ll have some more when I need them.” A netizen had tweeted, “I feel like Oprah wanted her to be embarrassed but Ms dolly said nope.”
i feel like oprah wanted her to be embarrassed but ms dolly said “nope” pic.twitter.com/QuYnxx1fNT
— keiajah (key-asia) 💛🌻🤎 (@keiajahhh) August 28, 2021
The video went viral with many discussing Oprah’s past friendships with the rape accused. Many also compared her tone to Ellen Degeneres, who recently courted controversy when many accused her of being ‘mean and rude.’ Apart from that, many of Ellen’s ex-employees had accused the show of being a ‘toxic workplace’ and even one of its senior producers of sexual abuse.
Meanwhile, Winfrey has previously voiced her support to the Weinstein accusers. She was also an executive producer of a documentary On the Record about Simmons’ accusers. However, she dropped out of the project due to creative differences. But, she had later admitted that the rap mogul had pressured her over the film.