Actress Rose McGowan, one of the first women in Hollywood to speak out against producer Harvey Weinstein, was also one of the first to react to his arrest. Weinstein turned himself in to police Friday morning in New York and emerged in handcuffs. McGowan told NBC's Megyn Kelly that she had "chills" watching the scene.
“To see him in cuffs on the way out, whether he smiled or not, that’s a very good feeling.” @rosemcgowan speaks out exclusively on @MegynTODAY after Harvey Weinstein’s arrest pic.twitter.com/nHPnxQw6tn
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 25, 2018
It was both real and surreal, McGowan said, struggling to explain her emotions.
Weinstein is facing several sexual assault charges, including from some of the biggest names in Hollywood. In addition to McGowan, actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek and Lupita Nyong'o shared their own unnerving stories about how Weinstein had taken advantage of them sexually at some point in their careers. For the disturbing details about Weinstein's history of using his power to take advantage of Hollywood starlets, read Ronan Farrow's detailed piece in The New Yorker.
Sadly, countless agents in Hollywood were complicit in Weinstein's behavior. McGowan said it wasn't just men. Women, she noted, are "very guilty" in this too.
"This man had hunting grounds all over the world, and he had accomplices and a complicity machine," she explained. "He was the cult leader of Hollywood."
The Weinstein scandal spawned the "Me Too" movement, giving women a newfound voice to speak out about their own experiences being the victims of sexual assault. Friday's arrest is the first step in the pursuit of justice against the disgraced Hollywood mogul.
“Since the news broke, even though his face is everywhere, I haven’t had a single nightmare for the first time,” McGowan said.