The battle for intellectual consistency among #MeToo activists took center stage on social media this week with actress Rose McGowan blasting celebrity peer Alyssa Milano as a “fraud.”
At issue is Ms. Milano’s silence over sexual assault accusations leveled at former Vice President Joseph R. Biden by former Senate staffer Tara Reade.
The Biden campaign has denied the ’90s staffer’s claims.
Kate Bedingfield, Mr. Biden’s deputy campaign manager and communications director, recently said in a statement that women with sexual assault claims are welcome to speak “because these accusations are false.”
“You are a fraud,” Ms. McGowan tweeted Monday at Ms. Milano, who insists that Mr. Biden’s presidential campaign should not be derailed due to the volume of “chaos” in the world.
“This is about holding the media accountable. You go after Trump & [Supreme Court Justice Brett] 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,” Ms. McGowan wrote.
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
In a recent appearance on Sirius XM, Ms. Milano downplayed the Reade accusations because of what she called Mr. Biden’s decency and her belief that there would be reporting on Ms. Reade’s charges if there were anything to them.
“I just don’t feel comfortable throwing away a decent man that I’ve known for 15 years in this time of complete chaos without there being a thorough investigation,” she recently said on the “Andy Cohen Live” SiriusXM radio show. “I’m sure mainstream media would be jumping all of this [Biden news] as well … if they found more evidence. I’m just kind of staying quiet about it.”
Ms. Milano also offered her final statement on Twitter for critics.
“#BelieveWomen does not mean everyone gets to accuse anyone of anything and that’s that,” she wrote.
“It means that our societal mindset and default reaction shouldn’t be that women are lying. I believe, along with many others in this space, that accusations need to be investigated with due process for the accused. This is the only way for the movement to work & create the change we are fighting for,” Ms. Milano said.
The activist concluded by saying anything less “puts the entire movement and women’s equality at risk.”
“This will be my last statement on this issue,” the former “Charmed” star wrote. “Please be well and take care of each other. Hold each other tight.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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