Former executive at Miramax and actor manager Jill Messick has died at 50-years-old. Messick was the acting manager of outspoken actress Rose McGowan, and according to a statement released by her family, Messick died from an apparent suicide.
Releasing a statement to Variety magazine, Jill Messick’s family said that she ultimately lost her battle with depression, and the family directed the blame to the Harvey Weinstein/Rose McGowan scandal.
Messick’s family told Variety, “Over the past few months, many women have come out with allegations against Harvey Weinstein, including Rose McGowan, who has repeatedly spoken with the press, striking out against not only her alleged attacker, but a great many others.” Messick’s family went on to say, “One of them was Jill, who chose to remain silent in the face of Rose’s slanderous statements against her for fear of undermining the many individuals who came forward in truth.”
Rose McGowan has spoken out claiming that Harvey Weinstein raped her back in 1997, the same year that Jill Messick was her manager. Messick’s family pointed fingers at McGowan and Weinstein’s feud saying, “Seeing her name in headlines again and again, as part of one person’s attempt to gain more attention for her personal cause, along with Harvey’s desperate attempt to vindicate himself, was devastating for her. It broke Jill, who was just starting to get her life back on track.”
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After McGowan’s claims against Weinstein, Weinstein involved Jill Messick in the legal affair, showing an email about Messick’s alleged defense against Weinstein. However, according to Messick’s family, this defense was in part due to Messick’s not knowing the full details of the case only until fairly recently, when McGowan decided to go public with the case.
McGowan broke her silence about Jill Messick’s death by releasing a statement to her Instagram account about her feelings toward her former manager.
Jill Messick is survived by two children and her partner. In the final words of their statement according to Variety, Messick’s family expressed their feelings toward everything that has happened, saying “We must ask more of ourselves, and of each other. We must take a moment to consider the ramifications and consequences of what we say and what we do. Words matter. Someone’s life may depend on it.”
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