Rose McGowan, the outspoken actress and activist who helped ignite the global Me Too movement, has once again thrust Harvey Weinstein into the spotlight, questioning whether the disgraced movie mogul has ever truly faced the consequences of his crimes. On January 6, 2026, McGowan appeared on the "We Need To Talk" podcast, offering a candid and emotional account of her experiences in Hollywood and her ongoing doubts about the justice system’s handling of Weinstein.
McGowan, best known for starring in the cult horror classic Scream (1996), the dark comedy Jawbreaker (1999), and as Paige Matthews in the hit series Charmed, was one of the first women to publicly accuse Weinstein of sexual assault. Her allegations, first aired in 2017, were a key catalyst for the wave of revelations that followed, with more than 60 women eventually coming forward with similar harrowing stories. According to the Daily Mail, these testimonies would lead to Weinstein’s convictions in both New York and California, transforming him from a Hollywood powerhouse to a symbol of systemic sexual misconduct.
But despite Weinstein’s high-profile downfall and multiple convictions, McGowan remains unconvinced that justice has truly been served. During her podcast interview, she didn’t mince words: "I would love to see a picture of him in prison. I suspect he’s been in a mansion in Connecticut. That’s my theory. I don’t know if he’s ever spent a day in prison. Hollywood, baby. I don’t know, maybe." Her skepticism is rooted in years of witnessing what she describes as Hollywood’s culture of protection for powerful men like Weinstein, a system she likened to the cult she grew up in as a child.
"They calculated that he was thanked more times than God at the Oscars. Because he was their god," McGowan said, reflecting on the industry’s reverence for Weinstein. "It was like the mafia boss. He was big and giant and tough and I later would see men shake if he walked in the room, like adult men that were like power players. They would like start physically shaking, the terror." She continued, "It’s hard for people to understand the level of control and power, even though he wasn’t maybe making the most money out of anybody, there’s something about his situation that had a lock and hold on people. I think he was a thug. Not the mafia boss of the cool kind with a suit like the Marlon Brando Godfather type, but more like a street way."
Weinstein’s legal downfall began in earnest after the avalanche of allegations in 2017. He was first convicted in New York in 2020 and sentenced to 23 years, then again in California in 2023, receiving a 16-year sentence for rape and sexual assault. In June 2025, a New York retrial resulted in another conviction. Weinstein has repeatedly denied all allegations of non-consensual sex, but the courts have found otherwise. According to the Daily Mail, he is currently serving his sentence, but McGowan’s doubts about his incarceration reflect a broader skepticism about the transparency and accountability of the justice system when it comes to the rich and powerful.
McGowan’s account of her own assault is chilling in its detail and the sense of orchestration she describes. She alleges that the attack occurred during a meeting her manager had set up between herself and Weinstein at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. "Everything in hindsight, every detail leading up to that moment, I could see how orchestrated it was to get me into the position that I was in. I really thought I was safe. It was actually on my way out. I was almost out. I saw the door and then it just kind of like got sideways, pulled into, like a room with a hot tub. The next thing I know I have no clothes on and I’m like, just like a statue. And I just froze."
The trauma of that day, McGowan recounted, left her "short circuiting" and increasingly "despondent and angry." She has since detailed the experience in her 2018 memoir Brave, and has spoken frequently about the emotional and professional toll it took on her life. The BBC and Daily Mail both highlight her role as a leading voice in the Me Too movement, a mantle she has carried even as she’s distanced herself from Hollywood in recent years.
Indeed, McGowan’s relationship with Hollywood has been fraught. During the podcast, she drew a direct comparison between the industry’s protection of Weinstein and the controversial Children of God cult in which she was raised. "This was far worse than the cult I grew up in," she said, adding that the fear and control wielded by Weinstein was unlike anything she’d experienced before. Her criticisms extend beyond Weinstein himself to the broader culture that enabled his behavior for decades.
McGowan’s personal reflections during the interview were not limited to her experiences with Weinstein. She became emotional when shown a childhood photo with her father, Daniel, who passed away in 2008. She described their tumultuous relationship, marked by years of estrangement, but also a growing sense of forgiveness as she matured. "He hated Hollywood but couldn’t explain why to me in a way that I could understand and in a way that I could hear," she recalled. "And I think he loved me very deeply... he’s also taught me a way of seeing the world."
Since fleeing Hollywood during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, McGowan has made a new life for herself in Mexico. By 2021, she had become a permanent resident, embracing a quieter existence far from the glare of the entertainment industry. "I wanted a different reality. I didn’t want anything to do with Rose McGowan for one year," she explained. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, she described that year as "the best year of my life. I had love, I had friends there. I had my little dog. I was on a beach and nobody could travel there for quite a while. I was actually safe."
Yet, McGowan’s passion for the arts remains undimmed. She ended her interview with a note of hope, expressing a desire to return to creative work. "I would love to still have some kind of career to be able to do something in the arts and something creative again," she said. "The majority of my life than not I have had this warthog from hell on my back and buying off public’s perception of me."
With her unflinching honesty and willingness to challenge powerful interests, Rose McGowan continues to be a force for change. As the world watches the ongoing saga of Harvey Weinstein’s legal battles, her voice remains a reminder of the courage it takes to speak truth to power—and the long road that remains for true justice in Hollywood.
