Rose McGowan Calls Natalie Portman’s Pro-Female Director Dress ‘Deeply Offensive’

Rose McGowan has weighed in on Natalie Portman‘s outfit from the Oscars 2020, and she does not think there is anything “brave” about it. Portman wore a cape that was had the names of female directors embroidered all over it, implying they were snubbed by the Academy Awards. To McGowan, this was all for show.

Portman’s dress at the Oscars this year included the names of female directors who made prominent movies in 2019 who were not nominated this year. The best director nominees were all men this year, and only one female-directed movie — Little Women — was nominated for best picture.

“I wanted to recognize the women who were not recognized for their incredible work this year in a subtle way,” Portman told The Los Angeles Times.

Some praised Portman’s outfit for calling out the Hollywood establishment. It even got a good amount of positive press, with industry insiders applauding Portman. McGowan noted that it is “the kind of protest that gets rave reviews from the mainstream media for its bravery,” but she disagreed.

“Brave? No, not by a long shot. More like an actress acting the part of someone who cares. As so many of them do,” she wrote in her Facebook post.

“I find Portman’s type of activism deeply offensive to those of us who actually do the work. I’m not writing this out of bitterness, I am writing out of disgust,” she went on. “I just want her and other actresses to walk the walk. Natalie, you have worked with two female directors in your very long career – one of them was you. You have a production company that has hired exactly one female director – you.”

McGowan went on to refer to Portman and other “A-listers” with a vomiting emoji, writing that they “could change the world” but instead continue “being the problem.”

“Yes, you, Natalie. You are the problem. Lip service is the problem. Fake support of other women is the problem,” she wrote.

McGowan then directed her followers to her book, Brave for more details on how women are systematically snubbed within the industry, not just in award shows. She added that she was only “singling out” Portman because she sees her as “the latest in a long line of actresses who are acting the part of a woman who cares about other women.”

The post got plenty of attention on Facebook overnight, with over 800 likes and over 2,000 responses. McGowan was not the first to criticize Portman in this way either, as many Twitter users shared similar sentiments.

Still, McGowan is not above reproach either, as many people responded with distaste for her brand of activism as well. In response to her post, one Twitter user noted that McGowan “helped start and subsequently derail[ed] the “me too” movement by showing she was mostly after money and publicity.”

“While what she’s saying is likely true, SHE shouldn’t be the one saying it,” they added.