Jill Messick, a Harvey Weinstein staffer that was the target of Rose McGowan’s wrath, committed suicide yesterday. Her family has claimed that Messick was “victimized” and brought to the brink of that dark void by McGowan.
McGowan’s charges were part of a 10.28.17 N.Y. Times story, as well as her recent book "Brave," which had its book tour recently canceled because of McGowan's erratic behavior.
Messick was a producer, but, more importantly, former Miramax exec that was also McGowan’s manager when the actress alleged Weinstein raped her in January 1997. Messick's family claims that she was brought into a deep depression by McGowan and didn't want to defend herself as it would deter the goodness and momentum of the #MeToo movement.
Joseph McBride's eloquent warning to us all on Facebook about the negative depths to which this movement can go into. Territory unexplored until Messick's passing.
The now infamous NYT story had McGowan meeting Weinstein at a hotel room. Messick arranged the meeting not knowing that it would turn into the sexual assault that it became. McGowan has stated that Messick comforted McGowan post-attack “But in the months to come,” Dominus wrote, “McGowan did not feel supported by her management team."
Weinstein attorney Ben Brafman has disputed the rape allegations laid forth by McGowan:
“In an email to Mr. Weinstein regarding the encounter, Jill Messick says the following, ‘When we met up the following day, [McGowan] hesitantly told me of her own accord that during the meeting that night before she had gotten into a hot tub with Mr. Weinstein.
She was very clear about the fact that getting into that hot tub was something that she did consensually and that in hindsight it was also something that she regretted having done.'”
McGowan had made Messick her prime target in the weeks that followed. The Messick family has said that McGowan's shunning of their daughter was ultimately what led to her suicide.
“Jill was victimized by our new culture of unlimited information sharing and a willingness to accept statement as fact,” the family statement said. “The speed of disseminating information has carried mistruths about Jill as a person, which she was unable and unwilling to challenge.
She became collateral damage in an already horrific story…Jill was many things, but she was not a liar.”
Original NYT Weinstein/McGowan story had Messick's picture stamped on its paper