Rose McGowan Says She Has 'Been Unemployed For Almost 5 Years,' Urges Signing Time's Up Petition to Support Weinstein Accusers

Rose McGowan revealed she hasn't worked in almost five years as she urged people to support Harvey Weinstein accusers against efforts to discredit them.

The actress, best known for her roles in Scream and the television show Charmed, claimed in a tweet on Sunday that she has been unemployed ever since she started "pushing truth" and "fighting the lies."

Sharing a tweet by fellow actress Eva Longoria urging people to sign a Time's Up petition to show support for the women who may have to testify against Weinstein, she wrote: "I have been unemployed for almost five years, ever since I started pushing truth & fighting the lies."

McGowan's IMDb page shows her most recent acting roles are in little known films or video shorts. Her last film role was in The Sound released in 2017 and before that, The Tell-Tale Heart released in 2016. She is also credited with roles in a number of video shorts since 2017.

The 46-year-old became a major figure in the #MeToo movement after coming forward to accuse Weinstein of rape two years ago. In October, she filed a lawsuit alleging Weinstein, two of his former attorneys and Black Cube, an Israeli intelligence firm that Weinstein hired, conspired to silence her and ruin her career, the Associated Press reported.

Referencing the name coined by TIME magazine for its 2017 person of the year, Silence Breakers, those who spoke out against sexual assault and harassment, McGowan added: "Hollywood needs to step up, if not for me, then for my fellow Silence Breakers. We need people to step up for us, as we have for them." A representative for McGowan has been contacted for comment.

In her tweet, Longoria noted that more than 80 women have accused Weinstein of sexual assault or abuse and that these women have faced "ongoing attacks." Alongside a link to the Time's Up petition, she added: "When Harvey's trial begins on Jan. 6, they need to know we have their backs."

Time's Up, a movement against sexual harassment, was founded in response to the Weinstein scandal in early 2018 by more than 300 women in the entertainment industry, including McGowan and Longoria, according to its website. Founding members also include other actresses who have spoken out against Weinstein, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Ashley Judd and Annabella Sciorra.

The Time's Up petition website states that the "courageous survivors who bravely spoke out against Harvey Weinstein catalyzed a worldwide reckoning with sexual harassment and assault in the workplace." It adds that although they have "stayed strong" against attempts to discredit their stories, they will once again be targeted now Weinstein is due to go on trial.

"Survivors need to know that when they take the witness stand, millions of people will be standing behind them. Add your name to say you've got their backs and join TIME'S UP's fight to hold harassers and abusers accountable," the petition added.

Tina Tchen, president and CEO of the Time's Up Foundation, told Newsweek that the women who spoke out against Weinstein did so "at great personal cost" and need to "feel our support, our applause, and our gratitude."

She said Time's Up launched their petition to "show survivors that millions are behind them, and we're urging every one of our supporters to add their name."

"Attacks of this nature on victims of sexual harassment and assault are one reason these problems have persisted for so long: it's made survivors afraid to come forward and it's allowed serial abusers to strike again and again," Tchen said.

"When the survivors of Harvey Weinstein first came forward to talk about the abuse and the harassment they endured in their efforts to pursue their dreams and build a career, they did so at great personal cost. They risked their jobs, their careers, and their personal sense of security to call out sexual assault and harassment and begin to expose behavior that workers for generations have silently endured. And now, as Weinstein prepares for his trial, these survivors are under attack by Weinstein's supporters once again."

She added: "We need to make sure these survivors feel our support, our applause, and our gratitude—and we need to make sure others who are experiencing harassment or abuse feel supported in speaking up if they choose to do so."

"We are in this moment of change, where employers, workers, and policymakers are still actively addressing the safety, fairness, and dignity of our workplaces, because of the courage and conviction of those individuals who spoke out. Until then, the scope and magnitude of the problem was under wraps, and you cannot solve a problem that you cannot see."

Weinstein, 67, is due to go on trial on January on rape and assault charges, which could see him jailed for the rest of his life if he is convicted, according to the Associated Press. He is accused of raping a woman in a hotel room in New York City in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act on another woman in 2006. The disgraced movie mogul has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

This article has been updated with a statement from Time's Up.