Rose McGowan hopes "Lady Justice" will decide the fate of Harvey Weinstein.
The disgraced movie mogul appeared in court in New York City on Monday (06.01.20) to attend a hearing for the start of his sexual assault trial, which sees him face two counts of predatory sexual assault, two counts of rape and one count of criminal sex act.
And moments after Weinstein arrived at Manhattan criminal court, Rose – who was one of the first of dozens of women to accuse Weinstein of sexual abuse, and has also made rape allegations against him – gave an impassioned speech in which she dubbed him a "super predator".
Speaking about Weinstein to the crowd outside the courts, Rose said: "Dear Harvey, no matter what lies you tell yourself – you did this. Today Lady Justice is staring down a super predator – you. You brought this upon yourself by hurting so many. You have only yourself to blame. I came here today to see this through."
The 46-year-old actress joined six other Weinstein accusers in speaking outside the courts, and said using her "voice" to speak out against sexual assault has helped her overcome her alleged rape at the hands of Weinstein.
She continued: "Today is a day for us to honour how far we’ve come and how much we’ve endured to get here.
"We are free, we are beautiful, we are strong – and you will never take this from us. Survivors will never give up.
"How we get the courage is because living in silence is a death sentence to your soul. Because when you get killed by being raped you carry around that dead person inside of you until you can find a way to birth it. For me, birthing that was through using my voice."
Weinstein, 67, was in court on Monday for a final status conference before jury selection begins on Tuesday (07.01.20).
His trial is expected to last six weeks.
Rose McGowan: Lady Justice will decide Harvey Weinstein’s fate
