Forgive and forget?!
Roman Polanski (89) is a film god for many cinema fans. But on the other hand there is his crime, which he confessed to but never really atoned for. In 1977, the director is said to have raped a 13-year-old in the USA. Polanski pleaded guilty, but before a conviction, the cinema legend fled to Europe and never came back to Hollywood.
His victim: Samantha Geimer, who was photographed together with her tormentor 46 years after the crime. Arm in arm, they beam into the camera like best friends. A bizarre picture.
Roman Polanski in court in California in 1977 when he faced a long prison sentence
Polanski’s wife Emmanuelle Seigner (56) posted the recording on Instagram. Below she writes: “Thank you, Samantha.” Geimer’s husband David is said to have shot the picture.
In 1977, Polanski was considered the most dazzling star in Hollywood. Among other things, he created the masterpiece “Chinatown” there with Jack Nicholson. But then one night changed everything. Polanski, then 43, met 13-year-old girl Samantha, who wanted to take photos with him. He takes her to Jack Nicholson’s (86) mansion, fills her up with alcohol and then forces her to have sex.
Samantha Geimer as a young girl
The star director was found guilty but brokered a deal with prosecutors to avoid jail. But then the judge insisted on 50 years in prison, after which Polanski fled. To this day he still shoots with big film stars, but he himself never sets foot in America, where he is threatened with arrest. Instead, Polanski lives in France.
In the French newspaper “Point” defends his victim Samantha Polanski today. Geimer in April: “I didn’t even know it was illegal. That someone would go to jail for it. I was fine, I’m still fine.” Polanski’s wife Emmanuelle conducted the interview.
As early as 2017, Geimer clarified in a video message: “I was always put in the victim role so that people could take my case, straighten it, make it worse, dramatize it. I don’t want to be used by judges or lawyers. I am no longer a victim!”
Polanski is purified without having atoned for it. Despite the MeToo movement, which uncovered numerous abuses on the subject of sexual harassment and abuse, especially in Hollywood, the director continues to make films to this day, including “The God of Carnage” and “The Pianist”.
For the latter, Polanski even received the Oscar for best director in 2003. Hollywood! Of course he didn’t come to the award ceremony.
