Rose McGowan is setting the record straight on her Charmed reboot criticism.
The 47-year-old actress addressed Sarah Jeffery's viral tweets in a post shared to Instagram on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Earlier this week, Jeffery, who plays Maggie Vera on the reboot, called out McGowan and Holly Marie Combs for the remarks they made about The CW series. In response to a video posted to social media—in which McGowan could be heard saying the show "sucks" and Combs could be seen laughing—the 24-year-old actress described the duo's actions as "pathetic," noting she hopes "they find happiness elsewhere, and not in the form of putting down other WOC."
But in her note posted to Instagram, McGowan claimed she "honestly had no idea" who Jeffery was until the tweet and noted she's "been too busy fighting monsters & fighting for a massive Cultural Reset to notice who's in the reboot."
"Absolutely nothing to do with race, that's quite a stretch you took," she continued. "I'm beyond glad any WOC has a well paying job. Hell yes to that. I'm sure you are a great actress."
McGowan, who played Paige Matthews on the original series, then suggested her criticism was directed at the network and the show's leaders.
"My quibble (google it) is about execs & producers & @wb network trading on years of my work & name in such a cynical & obvious way—a money grab to cash in on the Charmed name," she wrote. "I do not care that they remade it, I have far bigger things I'm dealing with. I do not nor will I watch a show I disagree with on principle."
She also made it clear this was not her "ego trashing the reboot" and further explained her objection. As she wrote, "This is a criticism of creators (those are the ones who should be embarrassed) with little to no imagination making bank off of years of us busting our ass to create a legacy that you are actually profiting off of as well."
In addition, McGowan expressed her concern that the original fans weren't listened to and didn't get a say. "I care that Hollywood won't stop making remakes that don't need to be remade. It's a formula that's gone on for too long," she continued. "Mediocrity rules there, not just sociopaths. There's no soul or heart in something made purely for profit whilst refusing to elevate and innovate. Reboots will always be the shadow, the originals will always be the sun. I wish you well."
At the end, she signed off by writing, "Best, Rose McGowan, NYT bestselling author of Brave, creator of Planet 9, Cultural Resetter, Time Magazine's Person(s) of the Year & too many other things to list."
As for Combs, who played Piper Halliwell on the original Charmed, she also spoke out earlier this week. "That's some bulls--t. And a lot of it. Clearly," the 46-year-old actress tweeted. "People speaking, excuse me typing, derogatory accusations of a person's character despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary because of a difference in opinions about a tv show is just plain wrong. And also personal gain honey."
She also later tweeted, "There's more important things happening in the world. Carry on."
Over the past few days, Jeffery has shared a few tweets, including a clip from The Wizard of Oz in which Glinda asks "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" She also seemingly referenced Combs' post by re-sharing a fan's tweet that read, "So wait a minute, you're going to start something, record it, make it public and then when you get called out for being wrong suddenly there are more important things in the world?"
What's more, she posted a photo of Shannen Doherty, who played Prue Halliwell on the original show, on set of the reboot. "In other news, my dad met the lovely @DohertyShannen on set once whilst standing in," Jeffery tweeted. "He approached her saying his daughter was a new Charmed one (pre-covid!). He told me she was so kind, thrilled for us, and excited to take a picture. She sent her love."