LOS ANGELES: A veteran Hollywood executive who was Rose McGowan’s manager when the actress was allegedly raped by Harvey Weinstein has committed suicide, media reports citing her family said.
Relatives of Jill Messick, who was 50, said in a statement circulated to US media that she had battled depression for years, but had recently felt “victimized” by inaccurate reports of her role in the affair.
Messick, who worked for Addis-Wechsler — now Industry Entertainment — managed McGowan when the actress claimed she was attacked by Weinstein in a hot tub at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival.
Dozens of Hollywood women have accused the disgraced movie mogul of sexual misconduct.
McGowan is promoting an upcoming memoir and is one of the most prominent advocates in the #MeToo social media movement against sexual harassment.
She told The New York Times in October that Messick had arranged the Weinstein meeting, which began in a hotel room.
The revelation — and being further dragged into the headlines as part of an email exchange released by Weinstein — had a damaging effect on Messick’s state of mind, the family said.
“The speed of disseminating information has carried mistruths about Jill as a person, which she was unable and unwilling to challenge,” the family statement reads.
“She became collateral damage in an already horrific story.”
The family went on to accuse McGowan of making “slanderous statements against her,” which the mother-of-two chose not to rebut for fear of undermining victims of sexual assault.
“She opted not to add to the feeding frenzy, allowing her name and her reputation to be sullied despite having done nothing wrong. She never chose to be a public figure, that choice was taken away from her,” the statement said.
Messick went to Santa Barbara High School and graduated from the University of Southern California with a communications degree.
She began producing films and television shows in 1999, and also worked as an executive at Paramount’s Lorne Michaels Productions.
Her movie production credits include “She’s All That,” starring Freddie Prinze Jr, Mark Waters’ “Mean Girls,” art biopic “Frida,” with Salma Hayek, and action film “Masterminds” with Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig and Owen Wilson.
McGowan’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
#MeToo activist McGowan’s ex-manager commits suicide
#MeToo activist McGowan’s ex-manager commits suicide
Policewoman honored for soothing crying baby when her mother fell unconscious at Beirut airport
- ISF honors first adjutant for comforting and feeding baby-milk to scared infant whose mother was rushed to hospital
- Social media users praise policewoman for her ‘humane and empathetic’ act after photos went viral
BEIRUT: A Lebanese policewoman who comforted an infant and fed her milk while her mother was hospitalized after falling unconscious at Beirut airport was honored for what social media users dubbed a ‘humane and empathetic’ act.
First Adjutant Nadia Nasser was on duty when the unidentified baby’s mother suffered a sudden illness and fell unconscious at a checkpoint inside Beirut International Airport earlier this month.
Photos of Nasser holding the months-old baby in her arms, preparing a milk bottle and feeding her went viral across social media, where users described the policewomen’s act as ‘motherly, compassionate and humane’ behavior.
Brig. Gen. Moussa Karnib of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces honored Nasser on Friday for caring for the infant for almost two hours at the airport after her mother was rushed to a hospital.
A media statement said the first adjutant was honored upon the directives of ISF’s Director General Maj. Gen. Raed Abdullah, after she took personal initiative on Feb. 2 to comfort the infant.
Commenting on Nasser’s photos that went viral, a user called Sami said she should be promoted for her ‘selfless and empathetic’ act.
Another user, Joe, commented: “She should be rewarded.
“This is how loyalty and love for one’s job and country are built,” wrote a user called Youssef.
Media reports said that when the incident happened, the baby’s fear and cries prompted Nasser to take the initiative to comfort and remain beside her until her mother’s condition stabilized.
ISF’s statement did not clarify whether Nasser and the baby accompanied the mother in the ambulance or how they were reunited later.
