Rose McGowan feared Harvey Weinstein would be 'exonerated'
Rose McGowan feared Harvey Weinstein would be "exonerated".
The actress has been one of the most high profile accusers of the movie mogul - who was found guilty of third-degree rape and a first-degree criminal sexual act in his sexual assault trial in Manhattan, New York City - but she admits she was worried he would get acquitted despite his crimes.
She said: "This is a huge victory for all of us who have ever been affected by Harvey Weinstein. This affects so many. It's a huge moment. I thought he was going to exonerated. I never really had hope you see.
"I realised the last time I had hope was the moment before I was raped by him and after that it became survival. I didn't have hope but not because of the jury, I'm very grateful to that jury for getting further than most jury's get in rape cases. I was worried, it's hard to speak publicly about it without getting sued. But it's an extraordinary moment and it's a watershed moment. It's a never-ending kind of situation."
And the 46-year-old actress feels society taught her to expect very "little" because of how unsuccessful most rape cases are.
She added: "This is an unbelievable achievement to have a woman who was raped by an accuser in court and saying, 'You did this to me.'
"That is a privilege. There's an astounding number of victims who never get any kind of measure of justice. So, I found it, we were winning by even having it in court. That's how little we've been taught to expect."
And the 'Charmed' star - who claims she was raped by Weinstein in 1997 - has always been fearful that the disgraced producer would "hire a hitman" to kill her.
Speaking on ITV's Good Morning Britain, she shared: "I'm really glad people are starting to talk about the trauma of it. You see people and you wonder why they disappear from the screen or their workplace, can you imagine having something so traumatic and you have to keep it isolated in your own soul? That's a brutal form of torture. He [Weinstein] very much came after me, he and his giant machine of other monsters. People he paid to do dastardly things. Things that sound like they're out of a spy novel but they're my life. I was sitting at home thinking I should do the laundry and then thinking, 'I wonder if he's convicted will he hire a hitman to kill me.'"
