Actress Rose McGowan sent a powerful message to women around the world as she delivered her keynote speech at the Women’s Convention in Detroit, which marked her first public appearance since accusing film producer Harvey Weinstein of rape.
The former Charmed star thanked the audience for their support in what has been a ‘very difficult time’ and made it very clear that this is a problem that stretches far beyond Hollywood, affecting women who may not have the public platform which actresses can command.
‘I have been silenced for 20 years. I have been slut-shamed, I have been harassed, I have been maligned, and you know what? I am just like you,’ she said. ‘What happened to me behind the scenes happens to all of us in this society. It cannot stand and will not stand.'
She went on to explain the powerful symbolism behind her hashtag #RoseArmy, revealing that it is not in fact a reference to her but to the collective strength of all women.
‘We are free. We are strong. We are one massive collective voice,’ she said. ‘That is what Rose Army is about. It is bout all of us being roses in our own life. Not me. The actual flower – because we have thorns, and our thorns carry justice and our thorns carry consequence.’
‘I came to be a voice for all of us who’ve been told we were nothing, for all of us who’ve been looked down on, for all of us who’ve been grabbed by the mother—king pussy. No more. Name it. Shame it. Call it out,’ was her rallying cry.
‘Join me, join all of us as we amplify each other’s voices and we do what is right for us and for our sisters and for this planet, mother Earth. There are so many women that inspire me on a daily bassis, and if I can be one ounce of that at any moment in time for any of you, I send you all of the strength that I have,’ she said.
Rose has long been vocal about the endemic issue of sexual harassment and assault in the film industry, revealing back in 2015 that she had been assaulted by a leading producer (though it was not until recently that she tweeted she was raped by a man with the initials ‘HW.’)
The star has been joined by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd, Lupita Nyong’o, Angelina Jolie, Asia Argento and Cara Delevingne, all of whom have spoken publicly about their experiences with Weinstein.
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