lawsuits

Rose McGowan Is Suing Harvey Weinstein for Racketeering

Photo: Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images

More than two years after publicly alleging that Harvey Weinstein raped her at the start of her career, Rose McGowan is now suing Weinstein, as well as his former lawyers Lisa Bloom and David Boies, for racketeering. Per filings obtained by Vulture, the lawsuit alleges that Weinstein conspired with the two attorneys, as well as spy agency Black Cube, to “suppress and discredit” McGowan’s rape claim. “This case is about a diabolical and illegal effort by one of America’s most powerful men and his representatives to silence sexual-assault victims. And it is about the courageous women and journalists who persisted to reveal the truth,” the suit states. “McGowan has suffered tremendously from the defendant’s conspiracy and lies. Her book sales suffered; her expenses mounted; her job opportunities vanished; and her emotional health cratered. She has experienced trauma and depression from the defendants’ actions, and the deep betrayal will have life-long effects.”

In the lawsuit, McGowan claims that when Weinstein got wind of her plans to detail the alleged 1997 rape in her memoir, he, among other actions, tried to buy her silence, steal the manuscript, and hire someone from the Black Cube agency to infiltrate her inner circle to record their conversations. (Which the operative successfully did.) In response to the suit, Weinstein’s lawyer said McGowan is a “publicity seeker looking for money.”

In September, an excerpt from Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s book, She Said, revealed that Bloom, a prominent victims’-rights attorney, was hired by Weinstein to discredit McGowan’s story. “I feel equipped to help you against the Roses of the world, because I have represented so many of them,” Bloom wrote in a particularly damning memo. “We can place an article re: her becoming increasingly unglued so that when someone Googles her this is what pops up and she’s discredited.” Bloom later confirmed that the memos featured in She Said were legitimate. She also apologized, “especially to the women,” for her short stint as a Weinstein employee.

Rose McGowan Is Suing Harvey Weinstein for Racketeering