Trial in Paris: Filmmaker Polanski (90) rejects allegations

British actress Charlotte Lewis sued the Polish-French star director for defamation in 2020 because he accused her of a “mean lie”. The 90-year-old Polanski denies the allegations. He is represented in the process by his lawyers. Charlotte Lewis’ lawsuit was triggered by an interview that the filmmaker gave to the French magazine “Paris Match” in 2019. In it he described her allegations of sexual violence as a “mean lie”.

• Also read: MeToo trial against Roman Polanski begins on Tuesday

Lewis made the allegations public in 2010, but did not file a lawsuit. Lewis accuses the filmmaker of sexually abusing her in 1983 when she was 16 years old. At that time, the actress had a role in Polanski’s adventure film “Pirates”.

“I wanted to be his lover”

In “Paris Match,” Polanski referred to an earlier interview that Charlotte Lewis gave to the British tabloid News of the World in 1999. In it she reports that she herself wanted to seduce Polanski. “I was fascinated by him, I wanted to be his lover. (…) I probably wanted him more than the other way around,” the paper quoted her as saying. She knew “that Roman had done something wrong in the USA, but not exactly what.”

Confronted with her previous statements, Lewis said that the News of the World had misquoted her and that she stood by her allegations against Polanski.

The Polanski trial is attracting a lot of attention in France, as the #Metoo movement has been gaining momentum again in recent months. This was promoted not least by the French actor Gérard Depardieu, against whom more and more allegations of sexual violence, sexist comments and vulgar behavior are becoming public.

“With the consent of the entire industry”

The French actress Anouk Grinberg accused the film industry of a culture of deliberately looking the other way. “When film producers hire Depardieu, they know they are hiring an attacker,” Grinberg said in an interview with AFP in Paris. “I’ve always heard sexual suggestions from him, but it has gotten dramatically worse – with the approval of the entire industry, which is covering up his misconduct,” said the 60-year-old.

Polanski, who has won numerous film awards such as the Oscar and the Palme d’Or at Cannes with films such as “Rosemary’s Baby” and “The Pianist”, has been accused of sexual violence by several women. So far, however, there has only been one trial against him: in 1977 in the USA for the rape of the then 13-year-old Samantha Geimer.

Commission of inquiry called for

It is also the only case so far in which Polanski pleaded guilty, not to rape, but to illegal sexual intercourse with a minor. Although Geimer withdrew her lawsuit years ago, the US judiciary never stopped the proceedings. The remaining cases are either time-barred or have not yet led to criminal charges.

When Polanski was supposed to receive the French César film prize in 2020, actress Adèle Haenel left the event in protest. Ultimately, the entire leadership of the César Film Academy was forced to resign.

The actress Judith Godrèche, who is one of the most important representatives of the MeToo movement in France, recently called for a commission of inquiry into sexual violence in the film industry. The film industry in her country is like “a family where no one dares to report anyone.” “We have to stop pretending we don’t know,” she said at a Senate hearing.

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