As if the situation between Rose McGowan and Harvey Weinstein couldn’t get any more awful, we have this really awful news. The Hollywood Reporter says that Rose’s former manager (and later, former employee of Miramax) Jill Messick was found dead on Wednesday after taking her own life at the age of 50. According to a pretty heavy statement from her family, it sounds like they believe her death was related to Rose’s fight against Harvey.
Jill’s family says she died in Los Angeles after battling depression for a number of years. She’s survived by her two children, Jackson and Ava, their father, and her partner Dan Schuck.
Jill Messick was Rose’s manager in 1997, the same year Rose alleges that Harvey raped her at the Sundance Film Festival. Rose claims in her memoir, BRAVE, that she told Jill about the incident, and that Jill responded by leaving Rose and working at Miramax until 2003. Rose has also spoke about Jill’s involvement during interviews, like her appearance on The View last week. Jill allegedly told Harvey’s attorney Ben Brafman that anything that happened to Rose was believed to be consensual.
Her family didn’t pull any punches with the statement they released after her death. They say Jill was “victimized” in the press, and that she became “collateral damage in an already horrific story.” They also point a finger squarely at Rose for dragging Jill’s name around. You can read the full statement here, but here’s some of it:
Tina Fey remembers Jill Messick: "This is very sad news and my heart goes out to her family. Jill was instrumental in helping Mean Girls get to the screen. She was a fiercely dedicated producer and a kind person" https://t.co/hKPCuLLggc pic.twitter.com/4TLjcKVNPt
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) February 8, 2018