Rose McGowan says her nude dress at 1998 MTV VMA was a 'political statement' against sexual assault by Harvey Weinstein
Rose McGowan has revealed the reason she donned the iconic nude dress at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.
The actress said she hit the red carpet in the completely sheer black beaded dress with a visible thong with her then-partner Marilyn Manson as a defiant gesture to being sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein.
"I [wore] that for a reason. It was my first public appearance after being raped," the 45-year-old said to actress Jameela Jamil during a conversation for her 'I Weigh' interview series. "And I thought, it was kind of like Russell Crowe and Gladiator when it comes out in the ring and he’s like, 'Are you not entertained?' And that was why I did that. That was my response to being assaulted," she added.
McGowan, who has been at the forefront of the #MeToo movement, was one of the first people to accuse Weinstein of sexual assault. At the time, she alleged that he raped her at his hotel during the Sundance Film Festival in 1997.
The actress was also one of the initial names to speak out when news broke about Weinstein’s decades of alleged sexual misconduct and assault. As per reports, the former Hollywood mogul has now been accused by more than 60 women and faces a potential life sentence.
McGowan ha previously hinted at her reasons behind wearing the famous barely-there ensemble last year when she visited Dr. Oz. "I’ve never worn something like that before or since," she explained. "That was a political statement. Of course, there was no Twitter at the time or Instagram, no way to speak for yourself."
Recently, it was revealed that the actress is in a healthy relationship with beau Rain Dove. The non-binary gender model, who prefers the pronoun 'they', is famous for modeling both men's and women's clothes and even worked as a firefighter under a male pseudonym for a year.
Born female but taunted over their masculine looks, Rain soon realized the difference in the way a female and a male is treated. "I think all people are androgynous," Rain said in an interview withBuzzfeed. "It's just that we've created these genders." Rain further added, "I think that 'androgynous' applies to someone who doesn't appear physically to be gender specific — you won't be able to figure out what's in their pants."
Rain never really thought of getting into modeling until they lost the bet and as a price to pay for the loss, they had to agree to go to a Calvin Klein lingerie casting call. Rain eventually was told to come back the following day to the male casting and was hired.
