By Grainger Heavensbee | Celebrity | October 12, 2015 |
By Grainger Heavensbee | Celebrity | October 12, 2015 |
Back in June, Rose McGowan made headlines for calling out a bullshit casting note on an Adam Sandler film that requested that the woman being cast wear tank top that showed off cleavage (“push up bras encouraged”).
The surge of social media relevance gave McGowan a lot of political capital, and she wasn’t about to fritter it away. A few days later, she claimed her agent fired her for revealing the casting note, though she also revealed in an interview a few weeks earlier that she had no agent. She also called herself a “baller” in that same interview.
McGowan is very well intentioned, but she can also be self-aggrandizing (listen to her Nerdist podcast). Case in point, last night she decided to make a political statement about the “old privileged white men” who run the country.
She’s right about who runs the country. She also made some great points in her rant! Making that point at a gala she was invited to designed to increase bipartisanship among Republicans and Democrats, however, may not have been the best venue for it.
McGowan was attending an event held by No Labels, an organization that seeks to bridge the divide between Democrats and Republicans. Invited as a guest, McGowan live-tweeted her plan to disrupt proceedings with a statement attacking the lack of diversity of those attending and slamming them for voting against “equal pay woman”, “against gay marriage” and voting “against their constituents best interests.”CNN political reporter Sara Murray was at the event and described on Twitter how McGowan stood up, said her piece and then “stormed out”. After the actress had left, Murray later tweeted there was awkwardness all round and that “the organizers did not look pleased.”
It’s great that she’s making a political statement, but in pre-planning the rant and live-tweeting it, she ultimately made it more about herself than the political statement.
I'm going to annihilate in 3-2-1… pic.twitter.com/znrrppmqHd
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 12, 2015
I just fully hijacked a gala dinner & fucking gave it to them. I represent America. I am an American and I have a right to speak.
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 12, 2015
Yes, you do have the right to speak! That’s why they invited you!
Here’s the first 30 seconds of her speech.
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) October 12, 2015
Here’s here Facebook post afterwards:
I hijacked a Republican & Democratic gala tonight. I fought back. After two hours of listening to old privileged white men discuss what Americans want without being integrated with any America that I know. These men, who VOTED DOWN EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN, who VOTED AGAINST GAY MARRIAGE, and VOTED AGAINST THEIR CONSTITUENT’S BEST INTERESTS, we’re so comfortable phoning in these pandering, masturbatory speeches- I knew I had to act. So I stepped the fuck up. After years of volunteering for candidates, and stumping for those who aren’t standing for me… I took back my power. My power is my voice. Tonight I used my voice. My heart was racing, but I did it anyway. And I walked out with my fist held high.The scene: At the end of a long night of listening to Joe Lieberman and Senator Lindsey Graham, and then about twenty other Uber white one percenter politicians, they decided to have the “celebrities” in the crowd stand up. We were the last people who had to be clapped for, it was out the door for these egos right after my asinine turn to be on display. I held my hand up straight in the air and REFUSED to put it down until I could speak. They weren’t calling on me, but I think it may have been ex-senator Evan Bayh who said to let me speak. It may have been. I don’t know, all the blood was rushing to my face and my heart was so loud in my ears. But I spoke. Oh boy did I speak.
Fuck. I went hard. Needless to say I have been DISinvited from the political hoopla happening tomorrow.
That’s awesome. She spoke truth to power. That was a total “baller” move. I only wish it came off more as a political statement and less as an act of self-promotion.
So basically Rose McGowan stood up, insulted the room and stormed out. Quite a way to cap off a night promoting bipartisanship
— Sara Murray (@SaraMurray) October 12, 2015
via THR