Rose McGowan Cancels Film Festival Appearance Amid Harvey Weinstein Allegations

Rose McGowan says her Twitter was suspended
Getty Images

The festival announced that McGowan had to cancel 'due to compounding factors surrounding recent revelations in the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment case.'

Rose McGowan will no longer be attending the Tallgrass Film Festival. 

The 44-year-old actress was scheduled to be honored at the annual festival in Kansas with the Ad Astra Award, but pulled out on Wednesday evening, less than 24 hours before the event. 

“We are sorry to announce that we’ve just been informed that Rose McGowan has canceled all upcoming public appearances due to compounding factors surrounding recent revelations in the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment case,” the festival said in a press release.

“While we’re disappointed that Rose cannot be here with us in person, we understand that her well being is the priority. We support her and our thoughts are with her. We’ll seize this opportunity to amplify her message and celebrate all the women filmmakers with works here at the 15th annual festival,” Tallgrass creative director Lela Meadow-Conner added.

McGowan was also scheduled to attend a screening of her directorial debut, Dawn, however, in place of her appearance, Tallgrass announced there will now be a panel of women filmmakers titled “#WokeWomen: A Candid Conversation with Tallgrass’ Female Filmmakers.”

“The whole world is now aware, in large part due to Rose’s efforts, about the rampant sexual harassment within the entertainment industry, and so in her honor, we have pulled together a panel of women filmmakers who will be attending the festival with their films, for a frank conversation, because the message doesn’t stop here,” Meadow-Conner explained.

McGowan has not commented on the event, but took to Instagram on Tuesday to share that she was "processing emotions." The actress spoke out about Weinstein last week, and accused him of raping her decades earlier. 

Weinstein's sexual misconduct scandal erupted earlier this month, after The New York Times claimed he had been sexually harassing women for three decades. 

In a statement to ET, Weinstein's lawyer, Charles J. Harder, called the initial New York Times report "saturated with false and defamatory statements." He also said Weinstein and his team are planning to file a lawsuit, with any proceeds being donated to women's organizations.

In a statement to the Times, Weinstein's spokesperson, Sallie Hofmeister said: “Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. He will not be available for further comments, as he is taking the time to focus on his family, on getting counseling and rebuilding his life.”

See more in the video below.