Actress at center of Weinstein scandal coming to Wichita this week

Rose McGowan, who has been one of the most outspoken actresses on social media in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal, will be at the Tallgrass Film Festival this Thursday.

McGowan, perhaps best known as the star of television’s “Charmed,” will accept the festival’s Ad Astra Award on Thursday, following a screening of her short film, “Dawn.”

The ceremony will be at 9 p.m. Thursday at the Scottish Rite Center, 332 E. First St.

She will participate in a panel discussion with film critic Amy Nicholson and Festworks’ editor John Wildman afterward.

Wildman said “the idea was talking about her career as a filmmaker and an independent film icon, but where we go beyond that, I don’t know.”

“The plan was to let Rose lead us where she wanted to go with it,” he said. “I know a lot of recent stuff has come up, but still, the direction is going to be about filmmaking.”

The festival has “been trying to honor (McGowan) for three years now,” he said.

In early October, McGowan became one of the most outspoken voices on social media accusing Weinstein of rape – and taking aim at studios who she says covered up the allegations.

McGowan was one of many high-profile Hollywood celebrities, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, in accusing the high-powered studio executive Weinstein of various forms of sexual misconduct, ranging from harassment to rape.

A New York Times article claimed that Weinstein paid McGowan $100,000 in 1997 after “an episode in a hotel room during the Sundance Film Festival,” around the time of filming the movie “Phantoms.”

Her account was temporarily suspended by Twitter, reportedly because McGowan had tweeted out someone’s phone number. Regardless, it sparked a 24-hour Twitter boycott by a group of celebrities and other users.

This story was originally published October 17, 2017 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Actress at center of Weinstein scandal coming to Wichita this week."