A lawyer for Harvey Weinstein has called actress Rose McGowan’s claims of rape against the former Hollywood producer “a bold lie”.
Ben Brafman wrote in a statement that McGowan is trying to smear Weinstein to promote her new book Brave.
McGowan details her allegations against Weinstein in the memoir released on Tuesday.
She said in the book that the producer forced himself on her during what began as a business meeting at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997.
BRAVE isn’t about you losers in 90210. You are simply examples; A common bacterial strain known as sociopath. And we are done with your lies. #Truth #Valor #Justice WE ARE CITIZENS and we will fight #RoseArmy
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) January 31, 2018
Scores of women have publicly accused Weinstein of sexual harassment or assault.
Mr Brafman’s statement said Weinstein and his lawyers “have refrained from publicly criticising any of the women who have made allegations of sexual assault against Mr Weinstein despite a wealth of evidence that would demonstrate the patent falsity of these claims”.
“Watching the ‘performance’ by Rose McGowan as she looks to promote her new book however, has made it impossible to remain quiet,” the statement added.
Mr Brafman said Weinstein denies McGowan’s claims. He also cited correspondence from “two witnesses” to corroborate his client’s position: entertainment manager Jill Messick and Oscar winner Ben Affleck.
The statement released through crisis management firm Sitrick & Co included several photos of McGowan looking cordial with Weinstein at an industry event in 2005.
She responded on Twitter late Tuesday by calling out Weinstein by name, which she had pointedly refrained from doing.
“It is you (who) did this to us,” she wrote.