Rose McGowan has filed a racketeering lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein and attorneys David Boies and Lisa Bloom, accusing them of conspiring to discredit her sexual assault claims against the disgraced film producer.
“This case is about a diabolical and illegal effort by one of America’s most powerful men and his representatives to silence sexual-assault victims,” the suit states.
The lawsuit comes a month after the publishing of “She Said,” a book by journalists Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey about the rise of the #MeToo movement. In it, the authors outline how Bloom offered advice to Weinstein in memos on how to “help you against the Roses of the world, because I have represented so many of them.”
“We can place an article re: her becoming increasingly unglued,” Bloom suggested in the memo, “so that when someone Googles her this is what pops up and she’s discredited.”
Bloom, who apologized to Weinstein’s accusers in 2017, issued another apology after the book was published. But McGowan called the lawyer’s actions “mind bending and illegal” on social media and called for her to be disbarred.
The lawsuit also names the spy firm Black Cube as a defendant, calling it part of the “Weinstein Protection Enterprise” that was designed to protect Weinstein from any sexual abuse accusations that might come to light.
The suit outlines how Black Cube obtained a draft of McGowan’s memoir, in which she planned to go public about her abuse at Weinstein’s hands at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. It alleges that the spy, known to McGowan as Diana Filip, gained her trust by posing as an advocate. The spy later recorded her conversations with McGowan and stole a draft of the memoir from her laptop.
“McGowan has suffered tremendously from Defendants’ conspiracy and lies,” concludes the lawsuit. “Her book sales suffered; her expenses mounted; her job opportunities vanished; and her emotional health cratered. She has experienced trauma and depression from Defendants’ actions, and the deep betrayal will have life-long effects.”
Attorneys for the defendants did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.