The 'Charmed' alum says Democratic Party officials backed the disgraced movie mogul even after his history of alleged sexual assault was exposed.

• Aug 14, 2018

AceShowbiz - Actress Rose McGowan has accused leading politicians of protecting her alleged rapist, Harvey Weinstein.

The Scream star, who was one of the first women to accuse the producer of sexual assault, claims Democratic Party officials backed the disgraced movie mogul, even when it was clear his career as a producer was over following New York Times and New Yorker exposes detailing decades of alleged bad behaviour, harassment, and sexual misconduct.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, where she was promoting her memoir, Brave, Rose said, "His protection came from the Democratic Party, far more so than Hollywood. He was their de facto cult leader and their star, and thanked as many times as God at the Oscars - a dead heat".

The Charmed star also turned on America's Republicans too, insisting President Donald Trump is like a cult leader - and she should know; Rose grew up in the Children of God cult.

"I do think Trump has done us a favour, if we can survive him," she said at the book festival. "Showing us so clearly what racism is, showing us so clearly what sexism is and the thing is he's doing what they all did before he just says it.

"So many of his predecessors, they worked under those same auspices (and) he's just so dumb he actually says it. He let's us all in on the secret. I would say Trump supporters, it’s largely a cult. He’s their leader, he uses trigger words, he says the same things over and over".

The actress also opened up about her own mindset, 10 months after the fall of Harvey Weinstein began, revealing, "I'm only coming out of it calmly now but it was a real nail biter... I just wanted it to stop and I wanted the lying to stop and I wanted the protection to stop and I wanted to stop being looked down on and so many others, because the whole casting couch idea, that’s such a myth its more like the rape couch.

"I'm gearing up to write a second book, Trust, on behind the scenes of the last year. This last year, the stress of it almost snapped me and I’m strong but it was really hard. I felt like I was manning the Titanic and refusing to let it sink".

Weinstein, who is facing multiple sex assault charges in New York and Los Angeles, has denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.