Rose McGowan Is Publishing a Tell-All Memoir About Growing Up in Two Cults (One of Them Is Hollywood)
A little over a week ago, Rose McGowan took to the stage to kick off the Women’s Convention in Detroit, raised her fist, and addressed the crowd: “I have been silenced for 20 years.” She was referring to her life ever since she reached a $100,000 settlement with the former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein after he sexually assaulted her—something she only realized she could discuss publicly this summer, when it came to her attention that the settlement never in fact included a confidentiality clause.
On Monday, McGowan announced that she’s now written a “no-holds-barred, pull-no-punches memoir/manifesto” called Brave, which HarperOne will publish on January 30 with a cover featuring McGowan mid-buzzcut.
The book details how McGowan grew up in a polygamous cult called Children of God in Italy, where she was “always in trouble,” pulling stunts like lighting a wall of bibles on fire—at least until she escaped with her parents when they, ironically enough, feared that she would be sexually abused. Once in the U.S., however, McGowan wound up in what she calls “the biggest cult of all: Hollywood,” after she was discovered on the streets of Los Angeles after running away from home at 13, and emancipating herself at 15.
“Brave is the story of how I fought my way out of these cults and reclaimed my life. I want to help you do the same,” McGowan said of the book, which is being marketed as the story of how “the Hollywood machine packaged her as a sexualized bombshell, hi-jacking her image and identity and marketing them for their profit,” only for her to rebel and re-emerge “unscripted, courageous, victorious, angry, smart, fierce, unapologetic, controversial, and real as f—.”
The Detroit Women’s Convention Brings Out Rose McGowan, Maxine Waters, and Women’s March Organizers for a Powerful Weekend of Activism
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
Inside the 2017 Women’s Convention, hosted in Detroit, Mich. on October 27th-29th. Photo by Megan McIsaac for W Magazine.
As corny as it sounds, I suppose if there’s any author who can truly be marketed as “real as f—” it’s McGowan, who’s repeatedly—as in multiple times a day, every single day—proven herself to be the most outspoken voices in Hollywood or any other industry, simply through her tireless Twitter, where she seems unafraid to target anyone. (She first tweeted that Weinstein had raped her in a tweet calling out Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, and has also tweeted choice remarks like “Ben Affleck f— off” and “wee little baby man had a widdle baby tantrum cos he wants to protect rapists,” regarding Alec Baldwin, in the past few weeks, during which she also saw her account get suspended.)
Since the book will also apparently be part manifesto, it should teach readers to be just as outspoken, too. At the very least, it’ll hopefully help McGowan, who’s no longer acting, out with some cash, seeing as she recently turned down what would have been at least $1 million in hush money from Weinstein, in exchange for signing a nondisclosure agreement just before the floodgates of allegations against him opened.
Since, as she recently told the New York Times, she depleted her funds long ago on healthcare costs for her father, she in fact almost accepted Weinstein’s offer—after instead asking for $6 million. Ultimately, though, she opted not to, for quite a good reason: “I was like—ew, gross, you’re disgusting, I don’t want your money,” she told the Times. “That would make me feel disgusting.”
Related: Rose McGowan Speaks Out at the Women’s Convention: “Name It, Shame It, Call It Out”
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