Rose McGowan says Harvey Weinstein was a ‘mafia boss’

Charmed actress Rose McGowan has described the disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein as a “mafia boss”.

The 52-year-old actress and activist is known for starring in 1996’s Scream, 1999’s Jawbreaker and playing Paige Matthews in the hit fantasy drama series Charmed.

The Hollywood star was also one of the first of more than 100 women to come forward and accuse the film producer of sexual misconduct.

Speaking on the We Need To Talk podcast, McGowan said: “They calculated that he was thanked more times than God at the Oscars. Because he was their god.

“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.

“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 was sentenced in 2023 to 16 years in prison for rape and sexual assault in California.

He has continually denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

McGowan recalled the alleged assault happened during a meeting her manager had set up between herself and Weinstein while attending the Sundance Film Festival.

She said: “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.”

Following the incident, McGowan said she was “short circuiting” and became more “despondent and angry”.