Rose McGowan has accused the Democratic Party of protecting movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The actress, who was one of the first women to accuse Weinstein of rape, told an audience at the Edinburgh International Book Festival that the events of the last year had “almost snapped” her.
McGowan, who starred in 1996 horror movie Scream as well as television series Charmed, was among the first of around 100 women to accuse Weinstein of sexual harassment and assault.
Her allegations helped cement the film producer’s downfall, and sparked the Me Too movement.
Discussing her book Brave, she said: “I will say, Harvey Weinstein, his protection came from the Democratic Party, far more so than Hollywood.
“He was their de facto cult leader and their star, and thanked as many times as god at the Oscars, a dead heat. But it was the Democratic party and the operatives there.
“He set up this whole operation to do this and he tended to go for anybody, the scale, the sheer magnitude, it’s probably in the thousands. He just f***ked with the wrong person.”
Here’s @rosemcgowan with @afuahirsch at #edbookfest pic.twitter.com/snXovpPZ8p
— Edinburgh Book Fest (@edbookfest) August 13, 2018
Leading Democrats including Bill and Hillary Clinton were criticised for not moving quicker to condemn Weinstein when the scandal first broke, although later did so.
McGowan, who grew up in the Children of God cult, also compared support for US President Donald Trump to a cult.
She said: “I do think Trump has done us a favour, if we can survive him.
“Showing us so clearly what racism is, showing us so clearly what sexism is and the thing is he’s doing what they all did before he just says it.
“So many of his predecessors, they worked under those same auspices he’s just so dumb he actually says it. He let’s us all in on the secret.
“I would say Trump supporters, it’s largely a cult. He’s their leader, he uses trigger words, he says the same things over and over.”
Speaking about the impact of the whole affair on her personal life, McGowan said: “It’s been a hard last ten months. I’m only coming out of it calmly now but it was a real nail biter.
“I just wanted him to stop, I just wanted it to stop and I wanted the lying to stop and I wanted the protection to stop and I wanted to stop being looked down on and so many others, because the whole casting couch idea, that’s such a myth its more like the rape couch.
“Hollywood is notorious for it.”
She added: “It’s not optimal right now, I’m trying to find my way in the world right now. I’m gearing up to write a second book, Trust, on behind the scenes of the last year.
“This last year, the stress of it almost snapped me and I’m strong but it was really hard. I felt like I was manning the Titanic and refusing to let it sink.”
Weinstein has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.