LOS ANGELES _ The scandal enveloping Hollywood grew wider Thursday when actress Rose McGowan accused movie producer Harvey Weinstein of raping her, and then pleaded with one of America's most powerful business titans _ Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos _ to end his company's alleged involvement in a culture of exploitation and abuse.
"@jeffbezos I am calling on you to stop funding rapists, alleged pedo(philes) and sexual harassers," McGowan said in a Twitter message directed to the Amazon billionaire.
"I love @amazon but there is rot in Hollywood," McGowan wrote, just hours after Twitter lifted a 12-hour suspension that temporarily blocked the actress from posting.
In a separate development on Thursday, Amazon suspended Roy Price, the head of its studios, after "Man in the High Castle" producer Isa Hackett told The Hollywood Reporter that he had repeatedly propositioned her and made lewd comments.
"Roy Price is on leave of absence effective immediately," an Amazon spokesperson said. "We are reviewing our options for the projects we have with The Weinstein Co."
McGowan is one of a number of Hollywood stars, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Ashley Judd, who have said they were victimized by Weinstein. Last week, The New York Times reported that McGowan reached a $100,000 settlement with Weinstein in 1997 after an incident at the Sundance Film Festival. As part of the settlement, McGowan was not supposed to discuss the incident but she has become increasingly vocal as more women have announced that they also were victims of the co-founder of Miramax and Weinstein Co.
"We are just seeing the tip of the iceberg," said Caroline Heldman, a college professor who has worked with sexual assault victims. "This is going to touch every major studio in Hollywood."
