Tarantino apologizes to Polanski victim
NEW YORK — Quentin Tarantino apologized Thursday to Roman Polanski rape victim Samantha Geimer for comments he made in a 2003 radio interview with Howard Stern.
In a statement to IndieWire, Tarantino called his comments about Geimer “cavalier” and said he was “ignorant and insensitive and, above all, incorrect.” In the recently resurfaced interview with Stern, Tarantino said that Geimer “wanted to have it” and that she was “down to party.”
“Fifteen years later, I realize how wrong I was,” said Tarantino. “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. I didn’t take Ms. Geimer’s feelings into consideration and for that I am truly sorry.”
Polanski has been a fugitive since fleeing to France in 1978 while awaiting sentencing for unlawful sex with a minor. On Tuesday in an interview with the Daily News , Geimer said Tarantino “was wrong.”
“I bet he knows it,” said Geimer, now 54.
Tarantino earlier this week was much criticized over a dangerous car stunt on 2003’s Kill Bill that injured actress Uma Thurman. Thurman discussed the incident in a column published Saturday by The New York Times, where she also made sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein, the regular producer of Tarantino’s films.
Thurman described Tarantino pressuring her to drive the car during the Kill Bill shoot in Mexico, and posted a video of the crash. Tarantino earlier this week disputed some of the details in the Times article, but acknowledged the car accident was “the biggest regret of my life.”
On Monday, Thurman said on Instagram that Tarantino “was deeply regretful and remains remorseful about this sorry event.” She directed her anger instead at producers of the film, including Weinstein, and confirmed that Tarantino gave her the footage of the crash.
“I am proud of him for doing the right thing and for his courage,” said Thurman.