Rose McGowan quits social media after accusing Alyssa Milano of ‘toxic and appalling’ behaviour on Charmed set

Rose McGowan appears to have quit social media, after accusing her former Charmed co-star Alyssa Milano of “toxic” and “appalling” behaviour on the show’s set.

In a message published to her Instagram, the actor, filmmaker and activist wrote that she has “given enough” and “cannot give anymore”. “Helping strangers worldwide is like death by a thousand cuts,” McGowan wrote.

After concerning many of her followers, McGowan clarified on Twitter that she is “not suicidal [but] exhausted”, adding: “I have no more blood to give at the moment. I have to save my own life now.”

On 22 August, McGowan accused Milano of “appalling behaviour” on the Charmed set, and “stealing” the #MeToo movement from activist Tarana Burke. Milano is often credited with spotlighting the hashtag in a 2017 tweet, with Burke having coined the phrase in 2006 to raise awareness of the prevalence of sexual abuse in society.

“You stole #metoo (a brilliant communication tool, not a movement) from Tarana,” McGowan tweeted. “You co-opted my movement, the Cultural Reset, for fame, jealous of me for outing my rapist. You made 250k per week on Charmed.

“You threw a fit in front of the crew, yelling, ‘They don’t pay me enough to do this s***!’ Appalling behaviour on the daily. I cried every time we got renewed because you made that set toxic AF. Now, get off my coattails you f***ing fraud.”

Milano had previously condemned a tweet by McGowan in which she questioned whether the Democrat party had “solved anything”. McGowan tweeted: “Help the poor? No. Help black and brown people? No. Stop police brutality? No. Help single mothers? No. Help children? No. You have achieved nothing. NOTHING. Why did people vote Trump? Because of you motherf***ers.”

Milano responded with a 26-tweet thread of “all the things the Democratic Party has done to make the world a better place”, adding: “Rose and anyone bleating the same ‘dEmOcRaTs DoNt HeLp PeOpLe’ nonsense, your lies are going to hurt people less privileged than you. It’s the kind of thing an ACTUAL fraud would do. Thousands of people are dying a day but you go on with your hyperbolic attention seeking tweets.”

Urged by her own followers to comment, actor Holly Marie Combs, who played sister to both McGowan and Milano on Charmed, said that “everyone is OK”.

“This administration and political climate has torn real life families apart. Some tv families as well,” Combs tweeted. “The greatest thing about this country is our independence and our individual freedoms to think and speak for ourselves. Charmed gave us 4 distinct voices. That is legacy. Still.”

Both McGowan and Milano have emerged as high-profile activists in recent years. McGowan was instrumental in the outing of former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein as a sexual predator (he would be convicted of rape and sexual assault in February 2020), while Milano has become a leading celebrity campaigner for the Democrat party.

If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or are struggling to cope, The Samaritans offers support; you can speak to someone for free over the phone, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.

If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.