Alyssa Milano responded to Rose McGowan calling her out for her support of Joe Biden, who has recently been accused of sexual assault.
On Monday, Milano revealed why she was silent on the resurfaced claims, saying she believes in due process for the presidential nominee before passing judgement, even though she has been a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement.
“I did my work and I spoke to Times Up and I just don’t feel comfortable throwing away a decent man that I have known for 15 years in this time of complete chaos without there being a thorough investigation,” she said on SiriusXM’s Andy Cohen Live. “I am sure that mainstream media would be jumping all over this as well if they found more evidence.”
You are a fraud. This is about holding the media accountable. You go after Trump & Kavanaugh saying Believe Victims, you are a lie. You have always been a lie. The corrupt DNC is in on the smear job of Tara Reade, so are you. SHAME https://t.co/B7NHK4k09K
— rose mcgowan (@rosemcgowan) April 6, 2020
After she posted a link to the interview via Twitter on Tuesday, her “Charmed” co-star, McGowan, commented, “You are a fraud. This is about holding the media accountable. You go after Trump & Kavanaugh saying Believe Victims, you are a lie. You have always been a lie. The corrupt DNC is in on the smear job of Tara Reade, so are you. SHAME.”
Milano replied a few hours later, “I continue to support you and applaud your bravery as well as acknowledge all the people you have helped along the way, @Rosemcgowan. Be well and stay safe.”
In March, sexual misconduct allegations against Biden from former Senate staffer Tara Reade resurfaced in an article in The Intercept. She claims Biden assaulted her when she was asked by another senior staffer to meet Biden to drop off a gym bag.
“He greeted me, he remembered my name, and then we were alone. It was the strangest thing,” Reade said to the outlet. “There was no like, exchange really. He just had me up against the wall.”
I continue to support you and applaud your bravery as well as acknowledge all the people you have helped along the way, @Rosemcgowan. Be well and stay safe.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) April 6, 2020
“His hands were on me and underneath my clothes, and he went down my skirt and then up inside it and he penetrated me with his fingers and he was kissing me at the same time and he was saying some things to me.”
Reade went on to allege that after she broke away from him, Biden said, “You’re nothing to me.”
Biden has denied the allegations.
During the Sirius XM interview, host Andy Cohen gave Milano the floor to explain why she has remained silent on the accusations, as many followers on Twitter pointed to the fact she has been an outspoken advocate for the #MeToo movement.
“If you remember, it kind of took me a long time to publicly say anything about Harvey [Weinstein] as well because I believe that even though we should believe women and that is an important thing, ” she said. “And what that statement really means is like, you know, for so long, the go-to has been not to believe them. So really, we have to sort of societally change that mindset to believing women.”
“But that does not mean at the expense of not, you know, giving men their due process and investigating situations and giving, you know, it’s gotta be fair and in both directions,” Milano added.
She also acknowledged the backlash she was receiving online because of her silence, even before McGowan slammed her.
“They’re calling me hypocritical for, you know, and saying that I’m a fake feminist and all of this stuff that I’m still trying desperately to stand back and be sort of objective about this because I don’t want this to you know — I sent the #MeToo tweet over two years ago. I never thought that it would be something that was going to destroy innocent men. Right? Like, we don’t want that to happen either.”
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