Rose McGowan is calling out powerful men in Hollywood who she says knew about Harvey Weinsteinâs alleged sexual assault and serial harassment of women in the industry, but kept quiet.
On Tuesday, the âCharmedâ actress tweeted at Ben Affleck hours after the actor tweeted a statement condemning Weinstein. In his statement, Affleck said the claims against the film producer, his friend, âmade me sick.â
In response, McGowan called Affleck a liar, alluding the actor has been well aware of Weinsteinâs sexual misconduct for quite a while.
ââGODDAMNIT! I TOLD HIM TO STOP DOING THATâ you said that to my face. The press [conference] I was made to go to after assault. You lie,â she wrote to him.
The assault McGowan is referring to is most likely included in a bombshell New York Times report that said McGowan was one of at least eight women who had reached settlements with Weinstein over sexual harassment allegations. According to the Times, McGowan received a $100,000 settlement from Weinstein in 1997 after âan episode in a hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival.â
McGowan declined to comment for the Times (some speculated that she has kept quiet because her settlement may have involved a non-disclosure agreement). But that hasnât stopped the 44-year-old from being vocal on Twitter since the Times report was published.
On Monday she tweeted the following to Affleckâs âGood Will Huntingâ co-star and Weinstein friend Matt Damon, during her very public petitioning to dissolve The Weinstein Company board:
TheWrap founder Sharon Waxman also named Damon in a piece in which she claimed that while she was working for The New York Times, the paper killed a 2004 article she wrote on Weinsteinâs sexual misconduct due in part to a phone call from Damon.
It looks like McGowan is going to keep speaking out. In the past day she has tweeted support for actress Asia Argento, who came forward about Weinstein assaulting her.
Representatives for McGowan and Affleck did not immediately respond to HuffPostâs request for comment on the situation.
McGowan also hit back and Michael Eisner, former CEO of Disney and president of Paramount Pictures, who tweeted Tuesday that he had fired the Weinstein brothers because they were âirresponsible.â Weinstein, he added, was an âincorrigible bullyâ but he âhad no idea he was capable of these horrible actions.â
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story mischaracterized one of McGowanâs tweets as a defense, not a criticism, of Lena Dunham.