Last year, one of the original #MeToo activists, American star Rose McGowan, has taken aim at TV broadcaster Oprah Winfrey, believing that Oprah Winfrey was faking it when it came to her support of the #MeToo movement. Rose criticized Oprah on Twitter as well as infamous Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and hip-hop record producer Russell Simmons.
While sharing a picture taken at the 2014 Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, the talk show presenter kissing the cheek of convicted rapist Weinstein on Twitter, The 47-year-old actor then called out Oprah.
“I am glad more are seeing the ugly truth of Oprah, I wish she were real, but she isn’t. From being pals with Weinstein to abandoning & destroying Russell Simmon’s victims, she is about supporting a sick power structure for personal gain. She is as fake as they come. #lizard,” McGowan wrote alongside the photo.
McGowan’s comments come days after one of Oprah`s past interviews with Dolly Parton went viral.
Oprah questioned the country singer, saying, “You`ve been open that you`ve had some work done, some tucks and pulls and sucks,” which was one of the questions that generated discussion on social media.
The two women also talked about Parton’s struggles with depression; Oprah mentioned that she had heard Dolly experienced a “big depression” after turning 40.
Dolly jovially replied, “Yes, I have and I`ll have some more when I need them.”
“That wasn`t cause I turned 40, it was cause I was fat and 40,” the `Steel Magnolias` actor joked, before adding, “I really had a lot of problems at that time, a lot of female problems. Just hormones… But I`m okay now, it was one of the best things to ever happen to me because it made me take inventory.”
The video triggered a larger debate over Oprah’s previous associations with Russell Simmons and Harvey Weinstein, both of whom have been accused of sexual assault.
McGowan also asserts that Winfrey was complicit in “abandoning & ruining Russell Simmon’s victims,” a reference to the numerous allegations of rape and sexual assault against Simmons, a businessman and co-founder of Def Jam Records.
In January 2020, Oprah made the announcement that she would step down as executive producer of a documentary by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, whose focus will be on the accounts of Simmons’ victims.
“I want it to be known that I unequivocally believe and support the women. Their stories deserve to be told and heard. In my opinion, there is more work to be done on the film to illuminate the full scope of what the victims endured, and it has become clear that the filmmakers and I are not aligned in that creative vision,” Oprah to the Hollywood Reporter in January 2020.
She stated that, in her perspective, “the filmmakers and I are not aligned in that creative vision, and there is more work to be done on the film to reveal the entire scope of what the victims faced.”
“I have great respect for their mission but given the filmmakers` desire to premiere the film at the Sundance Film Festival before I believe it is complete, I feel it`s best to step aside,” she continued.“I will be working with Time`s Up to support the victims and those impacted by abuse and sexual harassment,”
At least 15 women have accused Simmons of rape and sexual misconduct between 2017 and 2019. In a complaint filed in January 2018, Jennifer Jarosik accused the producer of rape; however, in April, she and Simmons stipulated to the case’s dismissal with prejudice.
Harvey, on the other hand, was later determined to have committed a first- and third-degree criminal sexual act. He has entered a not guilty plea and is currently being tried in a Los Angeles court on additional accusations.
Sources: Awm, Torontosun, News18
