Rose McGowan on Weinstein: 'The Trash Has Been Taken Out'

It was a day some of Harvey Weinstein's many accusers thought they would never see: The 67-year-old, once one of Hollywood's most powerful men, was convicted of sex crimes and taken from a courtroom in handcuffs. The trial was seen as a "watershed moment for the #MeToo movement" and the guilty verdict was celebrated by women's rights groups as well as Weinstein's victims, the New York Times reports. Weinstein, who was remanded into custody ahead of his March 11 sentencing, faces up to 29 years in prison. Some reactions from his accusers:

• Rose McGowan. "For once he won’t be sitting comfortably," says McGowan, who was one of the first women to accuse Weinstein of rape. "For once, he will know what it's like to have power wrapped around his neck." She tells the BBC: "The little girl I was when I was hurt, she's ecstatic. This is a great day. The trash has been taken out." McGowan spoke to the press along with other accusers, who call themselves the Silence Breakers.

• Zoe Brock. Brock, another accuser, tells the AP that she feared that Weinstein would be acquitted, make a comeback, and end up back at the Oscars. "But that’s not gonna happen," she says, "because now Harvey Weinstein is a convicted rapist, and right now he’s sitting in ... jail, and I'm so happy about it."
• Dawn Dunning. "This verdict made it real for people watching from afar that you will be held accountable for your actions," said Dunning, who testified against Weinstein at the trial. "You can't take advantage of people just because you have power and money," she said, per the Times.
• Rosanne Arquette. "Gratitude to the brave women who’ve testified and to the jury for seeing through the dirty tactics of the defense," tweeted Arquette, who says Weinstein sabotaged her career after she rejected his advances. "We will change the laws in the future so that rape victims are heard and not discredited and so that it’s easier for people to report their rape."
• Lauren Sivan. Sivan, another high-profile accuser, said the verdict "really shows that victim-shaming will not work as a defense anymore," per the Hollywood Reporter. "We saw it during the [Bill] Cosby case and now it's being confirmed during the Harvey Weinstein case," she says.
• Caitlin Dulany. "I have a renewed sense of faith that women will be believed when they come forward. This is absolutely a day of reckoning for Harvey Weinstein," she says. "To me it's like the sky is blue again. I am very emotional. I am thrilled. I just wanted to thank all of the women who spoke out against Harvey Weinstein, this man who seemed impervious to the law no matter who he harmed and for how long for so many years."

(More Harvey Weinstein stories.)