Jezebel.com posted an audio clip from an episode of the The Howard Stern Show, co-hosted by Stern and Robin Quivers. They ask Tarantino about a comment he made to a reporter following Polanski‘s Oscar win. The reporter asked: “What’s so great about a rapist being a recipient of Hollywood’s highest honor?” Tarantino replied: “I don’t consider him a rapist.”
Stern then asked Tarantino: “How come Hollywood embraces this madman, this director who raped a 13-year-old?” Tarantino responded: “He didn’t rape a 13-year-old. It was statutory rape. That’s not quite the same thing. It’s statutory rape, he had sex with a minor, that’s not rape. To me, when you use the word ‘rape’ alright you’re talking about violent, throwing them down. It’s like one of the most violent crimes in the world.
“Throwing 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.”
Quivers then replied, “That she didn’t want to have.” Tarantino responded, “No that was not the case at all! She wanted to have it and dated the guy…” [Note: Geimer never dated Polanski and in her autobiography, clearly details that she was drugged, sodomized and said no repeatedly.]
Samantha Geimer, now 54, blasted Tarantino, saying: “He was wrong and I bet he knows it. I hope he doesn’t make an ass out of himself and keep talking that way. I’m not upset, but I would probably feel better if he realizes now that he was wrong, after 15 years, after hearing the facts. Nobody has to be p**sed off on my behalf. I’m okay.”
Looks like people are p**ssed about it, and rightfully so. Melissa Silverstein, founder and publisher of Women in Hollywood, a gender equality initiative and entertainment news site, told The Guardian: “This feels epic. I think people are really disgusted.” The director’s resurfaced comments have also sparked backlash online. Director Judd Apatow and actress Patricia Arquette, to name just a few, have also taken to Twitter to express their anger.
Tarantino is currently developing a movie about the Charles Manson family murders in Los Angeles. It’s to be noted that Manson’s followers murdered Polanski’s then wife, Sharon Tate. ~Marisska Fernandes