Jill Messick, the Hollywood studio executive and producer who was Rose McGowan’s onetime manager, died Wednesday at age 50. Her family confirmed the news and said Messick took her own life.
Her family put out a statement along with the news Thursday, saying she was “collateral damage” in the fallout of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and McGowan’s part in it. They said Messick had battled depression and was bipolar.
“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. 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. She opted not to add to the feeding frenzy, allowing her name and her reputation to be sullied despite having done nothing wrong. She never chose to be a public figure, that choice was taken away from her.”
Messick spent more than 10 years in exec roles at Paramount and Miramax, with producing credits including “Frida” and “Mean Girls.” She was in the midst of producing Warner Bros’ “Minecraft.”