# What celebrities have spoken out AGAINST Roman Polanski? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 1, 2009, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227 "2009-10-01T13:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/41 "2009-10-03T20:41:32Z")
It’s interesting to see all the theories as to why the reactions to this story have not been unanimously condemnatory of Polanski. (Rich celebrities circling the wagons with “who’s next?” thoughts of their own closets, etc.) For me, trying to understand why it’s even open to internal debate, I find that it’s because I tend to place Polanski in the historical context that his art has earned. Bottom line, I think he should be punished. But I had to debate with myself to reach that conclusion. If you put Polanski in perspective with other great artists, over time the art survives far longer than the terrible things they may have done to other people in their lifetimes. Picasso, Joyce, whoever–reading the biography of many a great artist is largely an exercise in prurient voyeurism. One of the thoughts that crossed my mind in my internal Polanski debate was something like, "THEY got away with shit . . . " but then the thought couldn’t complete itself. So . . . does that mean I think HE should get away with shit? No. Does that mean that, given time travel or whatever, the great artists of the past who were also assholes or even criminals, would you go back and punish them somehow? I don’t know; probably. Does this make Polanski’s story largely one of timing? Who knows. Anyway, as I have these weird debates with myself, I realize that the one element that seems increasingly to be missing from them is the victim. Since the victim is still living, and the criminal is still living, and therefore still subject to human justice, then yes I agree he should be punished the same way that any other such criminal would be punished. But it’s kind of a sobering thought: the works of Joyce, of Picasso, of Polanski–they’ll survive well into the future. Their victims will continue to fade into obscurity. So this is a rare opportunity, perhaps, to get the crime on the official record, and not wait for it to “come to light” in some future biography, where it will always be subject to debate. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/42 "2009-10-03T20:48:23Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > [LIFE.com](http://www.life.com/image/88578533/in-gallery/34352/stars-who-support-roman-polanski) has a gallery of his supporters. Terry Gilliam supports child rapists? Well, f\*\*k him and the coconut he rode in on. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/43 "2009-10-03T20:54:13Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Terry Gilliam supports child rapists? Well, f\*\*k him and the coconut he rode in on. Oh man, for a second I misread that as Terry Pratchett and got really upset. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/44 "2009-10-03T21:24:41Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > Neil Gaiman and Kevin Smith have both spoken out against Polanski. Do you have a link for Gaiman? I’m not doubting you (Gaiman comes across as a decent man and he has a 13 or 14 year old daughter himself), but I hadn’t heard that he’d said anything about Polanski. He hasn’t mentioned the subject on his blog. I’d be curious to know what he had to say. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/45 "2009-10-03T21:32:02Z")
Neil Gaiman’s tweet: > [@](#): > > I think he should have done the time or appealed in the US. He was convicted of raping a 13 year old girl. > [http://twitter.com/neilhimself/status/4509660249](http://twitter.com/neilhimself/status/4509660249) ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/46 "2009-10-04T00:30:09Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Bill Maher went after Polanski pretty frontally last night, and his entire panel (including Richard Dawkins and Janine Garafalo) agreed with him. Garafalo was also annoyed at characterizations that “Hollywood” is supporting Polanski because she says that plenty in Hollywood did _not_ sign that petition and do _not_ support Polanski. Well I just hope none of the assholes standing up for Polanski come out in support of Obama during the next election. The GOP plays the guilt by association game better than anyone. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/47 "2009-10-04T01:13:22Z")
> [@Mr\_Buttons](#): > > Howard Stern used to rant about him quite a bit, back when he was on free radio. Still does, on Satellite… ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/48 "2009-10-04T02:20:50Z")
Drew Carey also spied tweeting disgust. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/49 "2009-10-05T00:14:41Z")
Blog collecting names of “celebs against freeing Polanski”: [http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/10/celebs-against-freeing-polanski.html](http://shakespearessister.blogspot.com/2009/10/celebs-against-freeing-polanski.html) Link contains a link to another compilation, which seems to be down at the moment: [http://chrismm.dreamwidth.org/577422.html?view=1709454](http://chrismm.dreamwidth.org/577422.html?view=1709454) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/50 "2009-10-05T00:52:41Z")
Another component in the whole deal of entertainment celebs supporting Polanski is, in the specific cases of the \*non-\*Americans in the crowd, the very common attitude that American penal law is excessively vindictive in orientation (in some countries the utter maximum sentence for any nonlethal crime, even forcible rape, is 15 years tops, and from there you get time off for good behavior). I can understand their feeling that way because it’s what they know and there’s no other frame of reference, but that does not absolve Polanski from facing the music: he could have always appealed if he thought the judge was just trying to make him an example. Heck, I could imagine his having served only a short part of his sentence before the INS said, “look, we’ll just kick you out, don’t ever come back here” and then he’d be able to get on with his life save for not being able to return to the US. ETA: And yes, I too believe far too many of his supporters convince themselves that in truth all that happened was a “mere” statutory offense. ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/51 "2009-10-05T01:31:22Z")
Eve Ensler [had some pretty strong words](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eve-ensler/does-the-brotherhood-of-f_b_305581.html) about this subject. ---
**Author:** ![Belowjob2.0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Belowjob2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belowjob2.0)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/52 "2009-10-05T02:44:32Z")
> [@supervenusfreak](#): > > Eve Ensler [had some pretty strong words](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/eve-ensler/does-the-brotherhood-of-f_b_305581.html) about this subject. [http://www.randomhouse.com/features/ensler/vm/qna.html](http://www.randomhouse.com/features/ensler/vm/qna.html) > [@](#): > > [Women.com](http://Women.com): What’s your response to criticism of your work, for instance, that the “Coochi Snorcher” monologue, where a 14-year-old girl is willingly seduced by an older woman, glorifies pedophilia? > > Ensler: Look, the piece is controversial. It’s not politically correct. And I assume people are going to have responses to it. I interviewed women, and I told their stories. I didn’t make them up. People are going to have problems with people’s stories. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/53 "2009-10-05T03:21:49Z")
How are Ensler’s stories comparable to Polanski’s deeds? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/54 "2009-10-05T04:08:34Z")
Obviously, there’s a difference between a play about something, and doing it for real, but I do think Ensler is being just a tad hypocritical in that she wrote a play which romanticizes and glorifies the statutory rape of a child by a woman, but excoriates the same act she depicts as positive when it’s performed by a woman as an atrocity when perormed by a man. She claims that play (which is insufferable, pretentious shit, in my opinion, but that’s neither here nor there) was based on real stories from real women, so presumably she exploited a real victim and romanticized a real crime for her play, which does imply a philosophical double-standard when it comes to the gender of the perpetrator. She’s right in everything she says about Polanski, but she’s the wrong person to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/55 "2009-10-05T04:28:41Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Right. I was glad to hear Chris Rock say it. > > I think he said(paraphrasing), “So, why do we forgive him? He made a few good movies?” [“People are defending Roman Polanski because he made good movies 30 years ago? Are you kidding me? Even Johnny Cochran didn’t have the nerve to go, ‘Well did you see OJ play against New England?’”](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/02/chris-rock-compares-roman_n_307816.html) As for the whole argument that this isn’t all of Hollywood defending Polanski, is there anyone outside of Hollywood defending him? This incident is pretty good proof that a lot of Hollywood celebrities are living in their own little world. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/56 "2009-10-05T04:32:36Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > [LIFE.com](http://www.life.com/image/88578533/in-gallery/34352/stars-who-support-roman-polanski) has a gallery of his supporters. What a freaky looking bunch of eccentrics. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/57 "2009-10-05T04:37:01Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > Jesus. So condemning a child rapist is now considered “right wing?” What in the living fuck has happened to the LEFT wing in that case? [Actually, here is the real right wing position on the issue.](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/04/cokie-roberts-on-polanski_n_309084.html) So now the left can safely condemn a child rapist without appearing too conservative. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/58 "2009-10-05T05:06:20Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > As for the whole argument that this isn’t all of Hollywood defending Polanski, is there anyone outside of Hollywood defending him? Most of the people defending Polanski are outside Hollywood. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/59 "2009-10-05T05:41:03Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Obviously, there’s a difference between a play about something, and doing it for real, but I do think Ensler is being just a tad hypocritical in that she wrote a play which romanticizes and glorifies the statutory rape of a child by a woman, but excoriates the same act she depicts as positive when it’s performed by a woman as an atrocity when performed by a man. It’s _not_ the same act. We can agree that having sex with a teenager who has given invalid consent is bad, but having sex with a teenager who didn’t give consent at all is _worse_. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2009, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227/60 "2009-10-05T05:46:05Z")
Worse, yes, but she didn’t even present the statutory rape in her play as bad at all. Would she have had no problem if Polanski’s victim had consented (to whatever extent a 13 year old can consent)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-celebrities-have-spoken-out-against-roman-polanski/512227.md?page=4)