The talent agency at the center of Rose McGowan’s recent kerfuffle stemming from a reported Adam Sandler movie role has released a statement, countering McGowan’s claims that she was fired. Innovative Artists clarified their side of the situation, according to Deadline, revealing that McGowan’s agent had been let go weeks before the actress talked about the advertisement for the role on Twitter:
Innovative said today that the agent in question, Sheila Wenzel — who also had worked with Amanda Seyfried and Britt Robertson — already had moved on from the agency before McGowan’s tweet. “Sheila Wenzel, Rose McGowan’s primary agent, parted ways with Innovative before McGowan’s tweet yesterday,” it said in a statement. “Wenzel was not the primary agent for Amanda Seyfried and Britt Robertson.”
McGowan took the news in stride and posted her own response on Twitter, praising her agent while still holding the barbs toward the agency.
https://twitter.com/rosemcgowan/status/614147007872139265
Variety adds a bit more to the statement, claiming that Wenzel’s departure from Innovative allowed the agency to make a decision on McGowan’s status, with the audition comments helping to push their decision:
A source tells Variety that Wenzel actually left the agency earlier this week and that her exit had nothing to do with McGowan. The source wasn’t a part of the meetings, but said they believe that once Wenzel left, the wheels were already in motion to drop McGowan in light of her comments about the audition.
Away from the center, some in Hollywood have shown their support for McGowan and her initial comments about the Sandler audition. Here’s a tweet by Jessica Chastain, which was retweeted by McGowan:
As do I. Her treatment confirms the misogyny underpinning the industry. She should be celebrated for speaking out.👏 https://t.co/yUyO0LXkFd
— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) June 25, 2015
The Sandler camp also addressed the issue, noting that they weren’t aware of the casting notice before it was sent out by their casting director, according to Variety:
“[Sandler and his team] were not aware the casting director sent this note out,” a source close to Sandler’s production company, Happy Madison, said. “They felt it was completely inappropriate and have made sure that it has not been sent out again.”
