Rose McGowan sues Harvey Weinstein and lawyers over ‘diabolical bid to silence victims’

McGowan demands jury trial

Rose McGowan has filed a lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein, accusing the former movie mogul and others of orchestrating a “diabolical and illegal effort ... to silence sexual assault victims”.

The racketeering suit, filed on Wednesday, names Weinstein, attorneys David Boies and Lisa Bloom, as well as the private intelligence agency Black Cube as defendants.

McGowan alleges that Weinstein and the other defendants coordinated to shut down her claims that Weinstein raped her in 1997 at the Sundance Film Festival.

The actor is asking for a jury trial in the case.

“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 lawsuit reads in part. “And it is about the courageous women and journalists who persisted to reveal the truth.”

Weinstein has denied allegations of nonconsensual sex. Phyllis Kupferstein, the producer’s attorney, told Variety in a statement: “Once and for all, Rose McGowan will be shown to be what she is; a publicity seeker looking for money. From the moment she sought a multi-million dollar payout in return for not making these baseless allegations, which we rejected, we knew that she was waiting for an opportune time to begin this. We will demonstrate that this case has no legal merit.”

Eric George, Bloom’s counsel, told The Independent: “It is inexcusable that Ms McGowan chose to include my client in her lawsuit. Facts matter. There is simply no credible factual or legal basis for her claims against my client. We look forward to our day in court to set the record straight.”

The Independent has contacted Weinstein’s lawyer, Boies and Black Cube for comment.