"[5] In the late 1990s, she worked as a talent manager at Addis-Wechsler & Associates,[3] where her clients included Chloe Sevigny and John Bloom.

In November 1997, she was hired as vice-president of development by Miramax Films and tasked with "scouting writers and directors and bringing in material to the company."

She reported directly to executive vice-president of production Meryl Poster[4] and was hired by Cathy Konrad, who said that she had "a keen eye for spotting new talent.

[10] Messick made a brief foray into television production with the short-lived NBC sitcom Bad Judge (2014–15).

[3] McGowan's memoir Brave, also released on January 30, 2018, details the alleged assault and is highly critical of Messick.

network, titled Citizen Rose, produced by Bunim/Murray Productions[15] and also airing on January 30, McGowan accused Messick of betrayal and of siding with Weinstein in exchange for her job at Miramax.

According to Mandy Stadtmiller in The Daily Beast, the publicity led to online cyberbullying after "activists on Twitter named, shamed and identified how Messick could be reached, with one even revealing Messick’s purposefully obscured LinkedIn profile (she did not use her full name) and encouraging others to reach out to her and let her know what they really thought of her.

Stadtmiller called it "an important part of the #MeToo narrative in its revelation of just how disposable some women are in the name of feminism.

"[20] A Messick family statement stated that she had suffered from bipolar disorder and that a "manic episode" in 2013 had affected her career.

Her family defended Messick's decision to not publicly address McGowan's negative statements about her because of "fear of undermining the many individuals who came forward in truth.