Rose McGowan has spoken out about her notorious VMAs outfit from 1998, admitting that she wore it in response to being sexually assaulted.

By the time the 1998 VMAs rolled around, Rose had been in a number of films, including Scream, and she was accompanied by her then-boyfriend Marilyn Manson.

The actress walked the red carpet in a fully translucent black beaded gown with a visible thong.

While Rose donned an animal print thong, she went braless on the red carpet, leaving her almost nude.

Rose’s dress has gone down in red carpet history (Picture: Ron Galella/WireImage)

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“I did that for a reason. It was my first public appearance after being raped,” McGowan, 45, stated in an interview with actress and activist Jameela Jamil for her I Weigh interview series, “And I thought, it was kind of like Russell Crowe and Gladiator when it comes out in the ring and he’s like, ‘Are you not entertained?’ And that was why I did that. That was my response to being assaulted.”

Harvey Weinstein with Rose McGowan in 2007 | CREDIT: JEFF VESPA/WIREIMAGE

When news surfaced in October 2018 about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s decades of alleged sexual misconduct and assault, McGowan was one of the first women to come out in The New York Times and The New Yorker. She said that during the 1997 Sundance Film Festival, the now-67-year-old assaulted her at his hotel.

Weinstein’s spokesperson has refuted all claims of “non-consensual sex” on several occasions.

More than 60 women have accused the former Hollywood mogul of sexual misconduct, and he may face a life sentence.

“I’ve never worn something like that before or since,” Rose previously told Dr. Oz about the dress. “That was a political statement. … Of course, there was no Twitter at the time or Instagram, no way to speak for yourself.”

Rose wore the dress to make a statement (Picture: Ron Galella/WireImage)

McGowan was reportedly part of a 1997 settlement with Weinstein following the alleged incident, according to the New York Times. According to a legal document, Weinstein’s $100,000 contribution was not intended to “be construed as an admission,” but rather to “avoid litigation and buy peace.”

CREDIT: BARRY KING/WIREIMAGE

McGowan refers to Weinstein as “the Monster” in her autobiography Brave, alleging that after discussing her career at his hotel, Weinstein pulled her down on the edge of a jacuzzi and raped her.

She wrote: ‘I felt so dirty. I had been so violated and I was sad to the core of my being. I kept thinking about how he’d been sitting behind me in the theater the night before it happened. Which made it – not my responsibility, exactly, but – like I had had a hand in tempting him. Which made it even sicker and made me feel dirtier.’