In 1998, Rose McGowan (45) stunned everyone when she appeared almost naked on the red carpet of the MTV Video Music Awards. Now, twenty years later, the “Charmed” actress tells People magazine that it was actually a statement because she first appeared in public that day after being raped.
“I wore that outfit for a reason,” said the actress who was extremely popular in the 90s because of her lead role from Paige Matthews in “Charmed.” “It was my first public appearance since I was raped. It felt a bit like Russell Crowe coming out of the arena in ‘Gladiator’ and asking: Are you not entertained? That’s why I did that. It was my answer to the fact that I was assaulted.”
McGowan, 25 years old in 1998, wore a see-through dress that day covered only her crotch and then provided the moment for the award show. The actress was at that time with show rocker Marylin Manson, with whom she had a relationship between 1997 and 2001 and even got engaged.
At the rise of the #metoo movement, McGowan was one of the first women to openly accuse producer Harvey Weinstein of abuse. She reported in early 2018 that he had raped her in his hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival in 1997.
