5th Polanski Victim Comes Forward: “I was 10 yrs old”

[culturesnark]

A fifth woman has come forward accusing Roman Polanski of sexual assault. She says she was 10 when it happened: https://t.co/hu33p0Njft pic.twitter.com/5pJCTcjwtH
- Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) October 21, 2017
The article details that in 1975, Polanski invited Marianne Barnard and her mother to a beach to photograph the then 10 year old girl in a

Comments

[greatljname]

He's disgusting and so are the 138 people who signed the petition.

[zoaster_toaster]

It legit hurts that so many people I otherwise like signed that shit. Unbefuckinglylievable.

[numbedtoe]

I remind myself of two things, one most probably had no idea the details of the case from the victims side. they think one of their own was being persecuted. the tide against him was different when i was growing up, it was the cause celeb, and truly seen as NBD. so while i side eye the shit out of them, i try and remember that, and that it was before more came forward. there shouldn't have been a need for more, of course.

if someone is going to defend him now, when there has been such a rehash of what happened, then i think they should be smacked. but unpopular opinion, i think Samantha needs a reality check in her constant defense of him. which she admits came after a settlement. i have no problem with her getting on with her life, and her processing on her own. but defending him? nah, i can't with that.

[zoaster_toaster]

I want to believe that but IDK. Samantha definitely needs to check herself tho in caping for him.

[numbedtoe]

i say that because when i was a kid, and already a huge film buff, i was reading this thing in people magazine, and it was written about as no biggie. how he was persecuted. poor roman and on and on. and so me, being like 10ish (and this was 20 years ago) when I'm discussing current events with mom, i bring that up, totally regurgitating what the article said. Mom looks at me and goes, "he raped a child. Full stop. I don't care if he's the greatest filmmaker ever. he raped a child. he fled the country because he was guilty and afraid of the judge sentencing him as if he worked in a gas station, not hollywood

[29feb]

ia with you on the petition. it was the big show of the law coming for him at a film festival in switzerland at the request of the u.s. that the people in hollywoo got all defensive about. a lot of them didn't check the facts. i think of emma thompson who said she signed it because mike nichols asked her to but removed her name when fans explained what it meant. if they continue to ride for polanski now, then, they deserve their dragging. polanski was also gross to sharon tate which people don't know or remember about.

i remember when i found out about polanski and being so disgusted. this was in the earlier years you mentioned. i brought it up to my film friend and they blamed geimer (that she wasn't innocent, etc.). it was a dark time.

[evilpinkmonkey]

i remember seeing a late or mid-90s people magazine article that ranked directors and in the blurb for polanski, they basically acted like he was some sort of great persecuted genius who had been made to flee the country because of "statutory rape"--they were really emphatic about the statutory part

[maynardsong]

I agree completely with your assessment of Sam Geimer. Honestly? Fuck her too.

[michelle0187]

I think some that defend him watched the hbo documentary "wanted and desired and felt some kind of sympathy for him.

[fifthmorn]

I do think that the petition was originally sent around as Polanski isn't allowed to go to Cannes--without much detail of what exactly was going on and people signed it--or their assistants did for them. I can't imagine there was much acknowledgment of the acts he committed as opposed to the fact that he was being kept from going to the festival and tbh, I've signed a lot of petitions, I have no idea how to unsign one. (I am imagining that this was a digital petition.)

Also, I'm not sure how Hollywood actually works in a lot of ways, I feel like the more you open your mouth against someone (even if they're as awful as he is), you can actually lose work because of it?

[genbu_no_miko24]

+1

[yussamahal]

Who's on thst list? People should @ them every time another survivor comes forward.

[fantastiche]

Has anyone distanced themselves or basically "taken back" that support since then?

[divanetta84]

Emma Thompson supposedly took her name off the petition shortly after signing it, and Asia Argento expressed regret pretty strongly on Twitter yesterday after Barnard shared her experience. I don't think anyone else who signed the petition has discussed it publicly, that I can remember at least.