Rose McGowan says she has to sell her house to 'fight monsters'

Rose McGowan suggested her battle against Harvey Weinstein is taking a major financial toll.

The actress and activist told reporters at the Television Critics Association’s press tour in Pasadena, California, on Tuesday that she’s having to sell her home to pay her legal bills — but it’s not for the reason that one might assume. Reports have suggested McGowan signed a nondisclosure agreement as part of her 1997 settlement with Weinstein for $100,000 to not discuss what the New York Times previously described as “an episode in a hotel room.” McGowan later claimed Weinstein had “raped” her, an allegation Weinstein denied. (The disgraced mogul has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex.)

“I never signed an NDA, actually,” McGowan said Tuesday. “That was a mistake the press made, and actually a mistake that I made for a long time. [I was misinformed] by a lawyer that I had signed one, when in fact it turned out I hadn’t. I thought I remember refusing that. I think NDAs, as we’re finding out, can be broken.”

Still, there’s been a personal cost, she said. “It’s really scary, I’m having to sell my house right now to pay legal bills fighting off the monsters.”

McGowan is at TCA to promote her upcoming E! documentary series, Citizen Rose, where she encouraged victims of sexual assault to continue coming forward. “Let’s take Tom Cruise jumping on the couch [during his infamous Oprah Winfrey appearence]. Nobody was writing about Scientology, everybody was worried they’d get sued. Then [the couch jumping] happens and everybody started to [writing about Scientology]. I’ve been saying to these ladies: ‘Jump on that f—ing couch, it’s okay.’ Because if so many are coming out … it makes them look really bad…”

Asked if it was important to be “seen as a warrior,” McGowan replied, “I scare because I care — which is a famous tagline from a movie called Monster Inc., actually, so I’m ripping it. But that is a summary of really what I do. Warrior. My father said I was born with my fist up.”

McGowan was one of the first of almost 70 women to accuse Weinstein of sexual misconduct. According to a legal document reportedly reviewed by the New York Times, the payout was “not to be construed as an admission” by Weinstein, but intended to “avoid litigation and buy peace.”

Check out the first trailer for Citizen Rose below:

Executive producer Jonathan Murray called the documentary “a real collaboration,” adding, “Rose has been filming for three years on her own. So it’s actually been really exciting for us as producers to work with her and incorporate a lot of the filming that she’s done. I think when you see this documentary, you’re going to be blown away because it’s not what you would normally expect to see on E! or anywhere.”