Rose McGowan Says She's "Shocked" And Never Thought She'd See Harvey Weinstein In Handcuffs

"We got you," McGowan said when asked what she'd say to Weinstein today.

By
Krystie Lee Yandoli
by Krystie Lee Yandoli

BuzzFeed News Reporter

After Harvey Weinstein was charged Friday morning with rape, a criminal sex act, sex abuse, and sexual misconduct involving two separate women, Rose McGowan told Good Morning America she was "shocked" and that she never thought she'd see Weinstein in handcuffs.

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McGowan accused Weinstein of sexual assault in October and has continued to be outspoken about the Hollywood reckoning over sexual misconduct. She also has her own docuseries on E! called Citizen Rose, which premiered in January.

Weinstein was led out of an NYPD precinct handcuffed on Friday on his way to court.

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"I have to admit I didn't think I would see the day that he would have handcuffs on him," McGowan said. "I have a visceral need for him to have handcuffs on."

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In a recent Hollywood Reporter interview, McGowan also said she wasn't confident Weinstein would go to jail for the alleged assaults. "I hope I'm wrong when I say that I don't think he will go to prison," she said.

Even though McGowan said Weinstein's face "has terrorized me for so long," she also said she would appear in court for his trial to show support for his other accusers.

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"Maybe it'll be him that's nauseous and not me for once," she said. "I will be ready for it. And I will sit in that courtroom. And I will support the other survivors all over the world. That's what I do."

The former actor also appeared on Megyn Kelly Today and spoke about Weinstein’s arrest, saying, “It's surreal...to see him in cuffs on the way out. Whether he smiled or not, that's a very good feeling.”

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McGowan said Weinstein’s arrest sends a message to people around the world that sexual misconduct against women “cannot and will not stand.” She said that every time a new allegation comes out against a powerful man, people say, “‘Oh, they’re losing their jobs.’” But McGowan noted, “They're criminals. If they were poor men, they would go to jail.”

“He did not [think this day would come]. The system was created to protect men like him. The system was created by men like him and his accomplices,” McGowan said.

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“It's tragic that it takes over 100 women [to come forward], and that probably means, like, 1,000.”

According to McGowan, Weinstein did not act alone because “he had accomplices and a complicity machine.”

“He was the cult leader of Hollywood,” she said. “To see that and to live in that town, I was there by myself since I was 15, and to see people lay wreaths at his feet, even though they knew — today is a good day.”

When asked what she would say to Weinstein today after his arrest, McGowan responded, “We got you.”

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Kelly also asked McGowan if she could ever forgive Weinstein, to which she responded, “I don't want to, because it's not about me. I'm a representative for all of us who have been hurt. I want to forgive the world for hurting people, and he's a part of that. I think there's so many others that I need to forgive even before him... It's a very complex issue, that one. And maybe I'll get there someday.”

In the meantime, McGowan says she's content knowing that “the man who pinned me down had handcuffs on him today.”

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