Rose McGowan Criticizes Hollywood For Pitting Her Against Shannen Doherty

Tabloids love to perpetuate the myth that successful, attractive women simply can't get along with each other. Throughout the '90s, one frequent subject of such feud gossip was Shannen Doherty, who left not one, but two successful series in the middle of their runs. This week, as the 45-year-old continues to share her battle with breast cancer with the public, Rose McGowan, the actress who replaced Doherty on Charmed, shared her support and solidarity for the ailing star on Instagram.

Dear @theshando Someone made this of us & I wanted to share it with you as it made me reflect. We have a funny history. As young women we were pitted against each other for society's pleasure. The rules of Hollywood engagement brainwashed into us were truly vile. The men & brainwashed women in our business made it so we couldn't be friends, I regret that. We were cast in this weird fake reality show where we were supposed to be enemies. I resented it greatly. I regret not being awake enough to articulate this to you at the time. Fear was drilled into me from day one in this town & you were the barometer by which my behavior was judged. I was under a microscope, one false move and I'd be branded 'difficult' just like you. I think we all know what happens when girls here get out of line. I willfully remained enigmatic & unengaged. The Bad Girl Shaming you received at the hands of the media was merciless. Global media shaming is real AF, as you know. Fuck them all & their machine, too. You cast a long shadow over my life. We were both cast in a fake real life role, that of the Bad Girl. I had to prove I wasn't as bad as you or I'd get the axe, too. But we were never the bad ones, it was them., the Beige Brained White Dudes in Charge. Well fuck them. Damn them for fucking with our minds & careers just because their misogynistic belief systems couldn't sanction two strong females in a traditionally subservient role- actress. I refused to give them the cat fight they so wanted. Shannen, we didn't know it yet, but we were the good ones. Two boss young women that scared the 'faux-liberals in provincial Hollywood, for that sin we got burned at the media stake, egged on by Hollywood who believe the press they start. There was a strongly inferred threat of me being blacklisted in tv as I'd been in film. Instead of understanding that we were a different breed, they tried to crush us, but they couldn't. I send you strength. ⚒🛡#rosearmy #BRAVE #shannendoherty #typos4life

A photo posted by Rose McGowan (@rosemcgowan) on Sep 13, 2016 at 8:32pm PDT

"As young women we were pitted against each other for society's pleasure," McGowan, 43, wrote. "The rules of Hollywood engagement brainwashed into us were truly vile. The men & brainwashed women in our business made it so we couldn't be friends, I regret that. We were cast in this weird fake reality show where we were supposed to be enemies. I resented it greatly. I regret not being awake enough to articulate this to you at the time. Fear was drilled into me from day one in this town & you were the barometer by which my behavior was judged. "

In a video on YouTube, Doherty tells fans that she and McGowan did meet, once before McGowan was cast on Charmed and again afterward. "We sat down and chuckled about the whole thing," Doherty said. "She's a sweet girl."

"I was under a microscope, one false move and I'd be branded 'difficult' just like you," McGowan wrote on Instagram. "I think we all know what happens when girls here get out of line. I willfully remained enigmatic & unengaged. The Bad Girl Shaming you received at the hands of the media was merciless."

McGowan seems to suggest that some of the "Beige Brained White Dudes in Charge" actually wanted her to feud with the actress she'd replaced. "I refused to give them the cat fight they so wanted. Shannen, we didn't know it yet, but we were the good ones." McGowan continued, "Instead of understanding that we were a different breed, they tried to crush us, but they couldn't. I send you strength."

While Doherty has yet to respond on social media, another Charmed co-star has. Alyssa Milano, who was also rumored to have feuded with Doherty, wrote on Twitter: "Holy shit! This is powerful."

Holy shit! This is powerful @rosemcgowan and @DohertyShannen https://t.co/6ijP1bgyLk

— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) September 14, 2016

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