Family of Rose McGowan’s Fmr. Manager Issues Statement on Her Suicide: ‘Victimized By Our New Culture’

Jill Messick, who was the manager of Rose McGowan during the time of her alleged rape by Harvey Weinstein, committed suicide earlier this week. And in a blistering statement, her family appeared to lay the blame for the former Miramax studio executive’s suicide on Weinstein and McGowan.

It was during Messick and McGowan’s partnership when the actress claims that Harvey Weinstein raped her in 1997. Weinstein continues to observe the fallout from his sexual misconduct scandals, and the his attorney recently issued a statement where Messick seemed to defend the mogul’s claim that he never raped McGowan.

Messick’s family released a statement about her suicide earlier this week, revealing she was bipolar and had a history of struggling with depression. However, they also disputed McGowan’s claims about her former manager, saying that Messick had a hard time dealing with the media scrutiny, and characterized the death as “collateral damage.”

“Jill was victimized by our new culture of unlimited information sharing and a willingness to accept statement as fact…Over the past few months, many women have come out with allegations against Harvey Weinstein, including Rose McGowan, who has repeatedly spoken with the press, striking out against not only her alleged attacker, but a great many others. One of them was Jill, who chose to remain silent in the face of Rose’s slanderous statements against her for fear of undermining the many individuals who came forward in truth.”

Over the past few months, McGowan has waged a very public battle against not only Weinstein, but also the “enablers” who helped him get away with sexual misconduct and shady practices for years. As for Messick’s family, it seems they have been deeply affected by McGowan’s accusations as well as Weinstein’s “desperate attempt to vindicate himself.”

[Image via screengrab]

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