A leader of the #MeToo movement is accusing one of the country’s top late-night TV hosts of sexual impropriety.
Late Friday night, actress Rose McGowan accused Bill Maher of sexually harassing her in a post that recalled an appearance she had on the comedian’s show Politically Incorrect in the 1990s.
“@billmaher Here’s a memory I’d like to share with you,” McGowan tweeted directly at Maher. “I bet you don’t remember, but I sure do. I was so excited to be on your show & get to flex my mind instead of my face. Here’s what happened. All I can say, Bill, you got the face you deserved.”
McGowan linked to a Twitter draft that detailed her experience on Maher’s show “in the late 90s.” McGowan said she “could feel” Maher’s “hot breath” and later wondered how the host interacts with women who don’t have the kind of power that McGowan does.
“I was on your show Politically Incorrect in the late 90s — as the show returned from a commercial break, you leaned over to me & whispered in my ear, ‘my parents didn’t give me a good face, but they did give me a huge c—,'” she wrote. “I could feel your hot breath on my ear as an image of both your hideous face & alleged big c— flashed in my mind. Both turned my stomach. I’ve always wondered what you say & do to the girls that aren’t famous?”
McGowan is a high-profile advocate for women’s rights and supported female actors who were abused by disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Maher defended former MSNBC host Chris Matthews and former Sen. Al Franken after both men lost their jobs after sexual harassment claims.
