Rose McGowan literally cannot stop attacking other women and it’s not ok.
The actress/activist has been a champion for rape survivors, but that doesn’t excuse her from trying to take down fellow women.
One of the cores of feminism is women supporting women so it’s hard to understand why Rose would continue to travel down this path.
One of the most infamous incidents happened earlier this year when she criticized women who chose to wear black to the Oscars. She particularly called out Meryl Streep (aka a Hollywood treasure) and tweeted,
“Actresses, like Meryl Streep, who happily worked for The Pig Monster, are wearing black @goldenglobes in a silent protest. YOUR SILENCE is THE problem. You’ll accept a fake award breathlessly & affect no real change.”
She’s also attacked Alyssa Milano, who helped spread the #MeToo movement. Although I have issues with the way Alyssa took on the movement (particularly by leaving out WOC), the way Rose went after her was unprofessional and not cool. Back in December, she said,
“You make me want to vomit. You actually gave me a body flashback. Well done, fake one.”
She more recently went on Nightline to attack Alyssa yet again and said,
“I don’t like her ’cause I think she’s a lie.”
It’s one thing to make an articulate, well-thought-out argument about why you think another woman isn’t helping the #MeToo movement, but it’s another thing to attack someone willy-nilly.
Back at the time of the Oscars, Amber Tamblyn actually called out Rose for this exact thing and did it in the most eloquent way possible. She wrote,
“Rose McGowan is a friend and while I support her kind of movement, I do not support any woman (or man) shaming or taunting the movements of other women who are trying to create change. Telling us to all wear Marchesa? This is beneath you, Rose. You don’t have to support and stand with us, but we stand and support you. You may take below the belt shots at us but we will not take them at you in return.”
She added,
“Our movement is big. And a black dress is just the beginning of the darkness that will be drained from every industry across the country by the time we’re done. That’s a promise. And we stand together in this fight, shoulder to shoulder, weapon to weapon, woman to woman (and man), body to burned body. And our arms are open. And our hearts two-fold. And our fire will be a universal scorch.”
Despite all of Rose’s unkind words, every single one of her victims — Meryl Streep, Alyssa Milano, and more — have handled her criticism with class. Nobody has taken the bait.
Alyssa actually had the nicest thing to say about Rose after the Nightline incident:
“I am and always have been completely supportive of Rose and admire her bravery and speaking out about her experiences. My goal throughout the past few months with both #MeToo and the #TimesUp movement has been to use my platform to give others a voice so we can all work together to stamp out sexual harassment and sexual assault.”
I seriously hope that Rose will take a cue from the women. Yes, nobody is perfect. But that doesn’t mean it’s ok to attack other women without equanimity.
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