The controversy started last week, when McGowan tweeted a picture of a shamelessly sexist audition script note from an untitled Adam Sandler movie, which listed open cleavage and tight-fitting clothing as pre-requisites for an acceptable female audition.
casting note that came w/script I got today. For real. name of male star rhymes with Madam Panhandler hahahaha I die pic.twitter.com/lCWGTV537t
The 41-year-old actress opened up about the tweet and her experiences with sexism in Hollywood in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, where she explained that she was "not trying to vilify Adam Sandler" but instead attempting to combat the "institutional stupidity and the institutional infantilization of actresses" in today's film industry.
"When I did my first film, I was told by my agent that I would need to have long hair so men in this town would want to f--- me and hire me," McGowan told Entertainment Weekly. "That was said to a 17 year old."
Despite being dropped from representation by Sheila Wenzel and Steve Muller at Innovative Artists, McGowan remains optimistic about her future. Today, the actress tweeted an inspiring response about her dismissal from the agency.
The awesome thing about being an artist? You can't be fired from your own mind. #FREEDOM