Quentin Tarantino Apologizes For Comments About Roman Polanski Rape Victim

Director Quentin Tarantino has apologized for the comments he made about Roman Polanski‘s 13-year-old rape victim.

QUENTIN TARANTINO APOLOGIZES FOR RAPE COMMENTS

In 2003, the Pulp Fiction director said that we need to be careful about who we label as “rapists” and cited Polanski as a victim of statutory rape laws. He asserted that his victim Samantha Geimer “wanted to have it.”

Now, Tarantino is coming forward to apologize for his words. “I want to publicly apologize to Samantha Geimer for my cavalier remarks on The Howard Stern Show speculating about her and the crime that was committed against her,” he said in a statement to The Wrap. “Fifteen years later, I realize how wrong I was. Ms. Geimer WAS raped by Roman Polanski. When Howard brought up Polanski, I incorrectly played devil’s advocate in the debate for the sake of being provocative,” he said before addressing Geimer directly. “I didn’t take Ms. Geimer’s feelings into consideration and for that I am truly sorry. So, Ms. Geimer, I was ignorant, and insensitive, and above all, incorrect. I am sorry Samantha.”

On Tuesday, Geimer interviewed with the New York Daily News and said that Tarantino’s 2003 remarks were incorrect. “I bet he knows it. I hope he doesn’t make an ass of himself and keep talking that way,” she said.

The 2003 interview of Tarantino talking with Howard Stern resurfaced on Tuesday, and saw the director say that he doesn’t “consider [Polanski] a rapist.”

“He didn’t rape a 13-year-old, it was statutory rape… That’s not quite the same thing. He had sex with a minor, that’s not rape,” he said. “To me, when you use the word ‘rape,’ you’re talking about violent, throwing them down, it’s one of the most violent crimes in the world. You can’t throw the word rape around, is like throwing the word racist around… it just doesn’t apply to everything that people use it for… He was guilty of having sex with a minor.” A contributor asserted that the 13-year-old didn’t want to have sex with Polanski, to which Tarantino said, “No, that’s not the case at all. She wanted to have it.”

The director also found himself in hot water recently because of comments made by his Kill Bill star Uma Thurman. She said that she requested to a stunt double perform a stunt but that Tarantino insisted she do a scene involving a car crash. The actress said the move left her with permanent knee and neck issues, but also that she doesn’t believe that Tarantino has any “malicious intent” in requesting she do the stunt herself. In an interview with Deadline, Tarantino calls the crash scene “the biggest regret of my life.”