Rose McGowan was one of the first big celebrities to openly accuse Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault following the 2017 New York Times expose on the disgraced film producer (now more than 80 women have come forward with allegations). And two years on, the Charmed actress is suing Weinstein with allegations that he recruited a network of powerful attorneys, media power players, and even spies to keep her from going public with her allegations.
According to legal documents obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, McGowan is suing Weinstein, his former lawyers, Lisa Bloom and David Boies, and private intelligence agency, Black Cube, for trying to have her rape allegations removed from her 2018 memoir, Brave.
The charges being brought against Weinstein and his team include “racketeering, violations of the Federal Wiretap Act, invasion of privacy and fraud, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress, ” People reports.
“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,” the lawsuit alleges. “And it is about the courageous women and journalists who persisted to reveal the truth.”
“The goal was to ensure that McGowan’s story never saw the light of day, and — if it did — that no one would believe her,” the documents read. “He enlisted prominent, media-savvy representatives, David Boies and Lisa Bloom. He hired the international spy agency Black Cube. Together they worked in concert for more than a year to silence Weinstein’s victims and journalists who were reporting Weinstein’s abuses.”
Weinstein has denied all allegations and pleaded not guilty to all charges with his attorney, Phyllis Kupferstein, issuing a response that reads, “Once and for all, Rose McGowan will be shown to be what she is; a publicity seeker looking for money. From the moment she sought a multi-million dollar payout in return for not making these baseless allegations, which we rejected, we knew that she was waiting for an opportune time to begin this. We will demonstrate that this case has no legal merit.”
Bloom’s attorney, Eric George, also issued a response to People, writing, “It is inexcusable that Ms. McGowan chose to include my client in her lawsuit. Facts matter. There is simply no credible factual or legal basis for her claims against my client. We look forward to our day in court to set the record straight.”
According to The Washington Post, Weinstein is set to go to trial in January 2020. He is facing charges of “rape, predatory sexual assault, and criminal sexual act.”
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