Actor-activist Rose McGowan has filed a lawsuit against disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and his lawyers over alleged attempts of silencing her. McGowan was one of the first women to speak up about Weinstein's alleged history of sexual harassment and abuse incidents in the year 2017. In her lawsuit, which also targets attorneys David Boies and Lisa Bloom and the private intelligence firm Black Cube, the actor said the producer tried to discredit her after she accused him of rape.
"This case is about a diabolical and illegal effort by one of America's most powerful men and his representatives to silence sexual assault victims," the documents filed in Los Angeles federal court stated. "And it is about the courageous women and journalists who persisted to reveal the truth," it added.
McGowan, 46, claimed that Weinstein and his lawyers tried to silence her when they learned that she was going to write a memoir, detailing allegations of sexual assault at the hands of the producers.
In response to the lawsuit, Weinstein's lawyer Phyllis Kupferstein told the Hollywood Reporter that McGowan's claims were baseless. "Once and for all, Rose McGowan will be shown to be what she is; a publicity seeker looking for money, she said.
In the lawsuit, McGowan said when Weinstein learned of her plans to release a book, "he tapped into his team of fixers". "The goal was to ensure that McGowan's story never saw the light of day, and if it did that no one would believe her.
"He enlisted prominent, media-savvy representatives, David Boies and Lisa Bloom. He hired the international spy agency Black Cube. Together they worked in concert for more than a year to silence Weinstein's victims and journalists who were reporting Weinstein's abuses," suit stated.