comment #1

DiscoNap says ...

Roman Polanski, Lawrence Taylor... the solution for men such as these is obvious.

comment #2

LexG says ...

Hack has-been actress hires Gloiria Allred and suddenly she's on the front page everywhere in the world after 20-some years of obscurity, complete with an entirely different face than she had in 1986? Pathetic opportunist alert!

That said, back in the day, Charlotte Lewis was SMOKING. Too bad she's probably a loon now.

comment #3

Hip Hop Homey says ...

One thing needs to be clear: Just because the age of consent is 15 in France, and this took place hen she was 16, RAPE IS RAPE, no matter what the age is.

comment #4

gogocrank10 says ...

OK, gotta say, as one of the, erm, pitchforkers, at least on a legal level, this seems sketchy. Failed actress? Check. Celebrity attorney? Check. 16 vs. 13 and drugged? Check. The long wait between deed and accusation is not unusual in and of itself, but I'll wait til the details come out to double-damn the dwarf.

comment #5

KRush says ...

I normally side with LexG when it comes to cheesy sexism, but I think you have to give this woman the benefit of the doubt. I think you can't impugn her motives; if it's true, it is difficult to put yourself in the shoes of a 16-year old aspiring actress who ends up face down on the casting couch. It might be a secret you'd take to your grave, unless you saw the perpetrator getting a bunch of fawning press about what a great guy he is.

comment #6

Ray DeRousse says ...

Geez, how does Gloria Aldred always manage to have her gnarled, bony fingers in everything? I imagine there hasn't been one "women's issue" court case that hasn't featured her vulture-like beak right in the thick of it.

comment #7

George Prager says ...

LexG says ...

I have had a copy of EMBRACE OF THE VAMPIRE on VHS for nearly a decade.... I think I accidentally recorded over it for this week's Survivor.

SO. FUCKING. PISSED.

comment #8

LexG says ...

Why did she need an attorney, actually? Is there an actual "case" here? Isn't there a statute of limitations on sexual encounters from 28 years ago?

I certainly hope every single member of every single rock group in the HISTORY OF TIME gets a good attorney if suddenly jailbait groupies from 1975 all have a public case against every rocker they ever serviced.

comment #9

DeeZee says ...

Man, even if he walks, he'll still be as broke as the Catholic Church.

comment #10

MilkMan says ...

LexG:

The 13 year old girls who orgied with Jimmy Page and David Lee Roth WANTED to, i.e., it was their mission in life to feel the warm, creamy riffage fluming down the back of their hands. Because it was cultural currency. That's the difference. Pamela Des Barres is still pinballing her way around the minor-celebrity circuit with tales about the time the rhythm section of Zolar X proctologized her with one of those mini-Louisville Sluggers they used to give out at Chavez Ravine on Ron Cey Appreciation Day. Letting Roman Polanski dress you up in a pair of vinatge Treblinka jammies and piss on your feet while he read from the collected poetry of Anton La Vey wasn't going to get you anything worth anything, except more of the same, and a lot of post-coital guilt and shame. Some can live with it, process it, and some can't.

comment #11

Abbey Normal says ...

Images: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Charlotte+lewis&mkt=en-us&FORM=MSDTLB&PC=MSDTDF#

MilkMan, you cracked me up.

comment #12

gogocrank10 says ...

Wait, I'm confused by all the euphemisms. Was she raped? Molested? Taken advantage of? Sexually abused in the worst possible way? That clip above is mud, as far as meaning goes. Curious that she did not use the word "rape." Given this was a statement with her lawyer at her side, it seems like a legal fudge.

I totally give her the benefit of the doubt, but that doesn't make this any less wait and see. So far we have been given the sum but shown none of the math.

comment #13

Ray DeRousse says ...

"Worst possible way" = ass fucked. And, frankly, I'd be tongue-tied for decades if I was ass fucked by someone like Roman Polanski. Like Milkman indicated, that's far lower on the coolness meter than, say, having a shark stuffed in your vagina in some seedy hotel room by Robert Plant.

comment #14

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Because EVERYONE knows that the surest way to stage a comeback, with either the D.A.'s office or Gloria Allred, is to accuse a Hollywood sacred cow of misdeeds.

Further more, if you think this is going to help Lewis' career one iota, I have two words for you: Hunter Tylo. Big, BIG career after the Spelling case.

Thing is, I only wish the D.A's office was orchestrating this. I hope there is a LexG wet dream of a parade of underage girls waiting in the wings, and every time he releases one of his "But I'M the victim" messages Steve Cooley trots out another formerly molested tot to send the message "No, fuck YOU, Roman"

There is nothing more delicious than watching someone hoisted on their own petard . The man basically lawyered his way out of raping a 13 year old and had he simply come back he probably would have gotten at most 6 months to a year.

As it is, not only is he now facing the growing possibility of Cooley, fed up with his shit, hitting him with real time, but far worse more and more of his pallies wake up to the fact that their buddy Roman Polanski drugged and rape-raped a child.

God help any of those in denial on the day they accept this and realize that on several occasions "Uncle Roman" was left alone with their rather comely 14 year old daughter. You know, the one with all the emotional issues today...

comment #15

CitizenKanedforChewingGum says ...

Well, you certainly are nothing if not passionate vis-a-vis the subject of rape, DtG.

*awkward silence*

comment #16

gogocrank10 says ...

Oh, he'll get his. And this has nothing to do with her "career." I'm just wondering what her angle is, or why she felt compelled to come forward with lawyer in tow. If it was for the sake of the accused in absentia, a point of honor and self-respect, she could have done it behind closed doors. Why didn't she go to the DA? She seems like a strong woman, but by coming out in public, with that lawyer of all lawyers, methinks she has a very specific idea of justice served in mind.

But again, regardless, it's decades later and her circumstances - what little we know of them - seem far (or at least significantly) different from Polanski's most famous transgression, at least from a legal standpoint.

comment #17

Homie Cat says ...

I just bought Frantic on Blu-ray, and I'll be double dipping for Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby when they come out.
He is an Art God as Jeff likes to put it, and that would normally give him a pass for all sorts of things like DUI's, tax evasion, jaywalking, and even giving a critic or two a good smack.
But there is a line.
And as much as the apologist engage in games of verbal twister to say otherwise, drugging and ass fucking a 13 year old, and forcibly ass fucking another 16 year old crosses that line by a wide margin.

comment #18

hunterd says ...

How DARE the LA Times besmirch the name of an admitted child rapist!

As I have said in every post on this matter, the actions of Polanski are not those of a man reeling from tragedy. They are not those of a man who made a mistake. They are not those of a man who is easily forgivable. His actions indicate a pathology. He didn't meet a girl and sleep with her, he orchestrated her private arrival at his home. He took her into the hot tub. He got her drunk. Then he gave her some Quaaludes. They he raped her orally and vaginally. Then he sodomized her.

He did it, then did it again, then did it AGAIN. These are the actions of a serial rapist. Maybe he didn't rape children too often, but that level of planning and premeditation is a clear indication that this was not a one time thing.

Anyone surprised by this new story is either in denial or just kinda dumb.

comment #19

hunterd says ...

Oh, and the vast majority of women do not press rape charges because people like LexG come out of the woodwork to say, 'She was asking for it!' and "She's not just a whore, she's a publicity whore!'

Considering that we know for a fact that Polanski is a child rapist her charges don't strike me as out of the blue at all.

She was raped by a man 4 times her age. The act is dehumanizing and humiliating, something only magnified by the legal system. She chose to keep quiet out of self preservation and now she has come forward because she has a chance to prevent this bastard from ruining any more young lives.

She should be applauded for her bravery, not scrutinized. How the hell is, "I was raped" going to turn into new movies roles? Honestly.

comment #20

THE MovieBob says ...

Benefit of the doubt to the alleged victim, of course, but yeah... Gloria Allred? Lack of concrete terms? Reeeaaaalllllyyyy long wait, and then turning up at the height of the accused's re-notoriety? Again, GLORIA ALLRED!? This couldn't look sketchy on her part if she were giving the press-conference from Springer.

comment #21

hunterd says ...

Yes, let us be incredulous of the lawyer instead of the man whom we know rapes children.

comment #22

hunterd says ...

And while we're at it; was she wearing a short skirt at the time? Was she walking by herself at night? Was she wearing makeup? A low cut top? Shit, it's probably her fault not his! Right?!

comment #23

LexG says ...

Do you think she had the OBVIOUS facial "work" done in recent weeks in honor of her "big moment" here? Ready for my closeup!

Can ANYONE explain the dates discrepancy? Pirates came out in '86. Surely Polanski wasn't casting (couch?) it in *1982*.

Plus going by her age on Wiki and IMDB, she wasn't 16 in 1982. So a lot of fuzzy dates and recollections seem to be the order of the day here. This would get tossed in four seconds in any court, whatever you think of Polanski.

comment #24

austin111 says ...

As a victim of molestation in early childhood, I can tell you that many kids (yes, even teens) pretend these things never happened, go into denial, etc., often for years. You really can get to believe that you were somehow guilty of something awful. Doesn't mean that it never happened. If Polanski was capable of one act, I guess he was capable of others, especially in a country where he might actually get away with it. Besides he was a director and she an actress, albeit it very young ---- anyone here heard of the casting couch? She may have been sitting on the sidelines many years just trying to get on with life but it maybe got to be too much. Just saying. I wonder who else will come out of the woodwork with other accusations?

comment #25

goodvibe61 says ...

Nuts.

This story is a no win for everyone.

It sure is convenient to come out after 28 years with this. It smacks of all the wrong motivations.

What was this girl doing at 16 years old in Polanski's apartment? Good job of sending the right signals.

Why, if she was damaged horribly by him, did she then proceed to work with him in Pirates? How does that make any sense in the world?

The timing is worth mentioning twice. This is the absolute worst time for this information to be made public. Why didn't she come out when Polanski's other victim insisted that Roman had done enough penance and all should be forgiven? That was years ago, where was Lewis then?

Polanski must be an incredible ass of a human being. And still, Chinatown will be one of my very favorite works of art forever. Rosemary's Baby, Repulsion, he's truly a masterful filmmaker. And a complete ass. It's a crazy world out there.

Gloria All Red? Sweet Jesus. God help us all.

comment #26

THE MovieBob says ...

hunterd
"Yes, let us be incredulous of the lawyer instead of the man whom we know rapes children."

When it's Gloria Allred? Abso-freakin-loutely. She's the definition of a bottom-feeder.

austin
"I wonder who else will come out of the woodwork with other accusations?"

That's kind of the problem: Whatever you think of the man and his crime, right now basically every younger woman he was ever involved with - even in cases, like this, where it was within the legal age of consent in that country - can potentially come forward and say "it wasn't consensual," "I was intimindated," etc and immediately it's he said/she said; and HE'S already mired in one criminal case as it is. The potential - I stress, THE POTENTIAL - for opportunistic scum like Allred to take advantage of the situation for what amounts to extortion - is enormous.

comment #27

THE MovieBob says ...

And again, I'm not meaning to impugn the character or motives of anyone except possibly Allred, or lessen/excuse the crime he IS guilty of and that I DO think he ought be extradited and sentenced for. Just calling this as I see it right at the moment.

comment #28

Manitoba says ...

I stopped laughing at Gloria Allred after she and Rachel Uchitel reportedly got $10 million out of the Tiger Woods camp in return for silence just before a planned news conference .

comment #29

Gordn27 says ...

"The potential - I stress, THE POTENTIAL - for opportunistic scum like Allred to take advantage of the situation for what amounts to extortion - is enormous."

I don't think that Polanski -- who didn't even pay Gemier despite having a court order him to -- is all that good a target for extortion.

"That's kind of the problem"

Ah, but fortunately, since the problem is entirely Polanski's own creation (that is, he wouldn't still be mired in this criminal case if not for his own behavior), there's not much reason to sympathize too much there.

comment #30

Gordn27 says ...

"And is anyone going to claim with a straight face that this wasn't some kind of slick sleaze maneuver orchestrated by the L.A. district attorney's office?"

I don't understand the accusation here -- are you saying that the LA DAs have a bunch of Polanski victims that they're waiting to trot out? Or did they fly her in from England to lie to everybody in order to discredit Polanski despite the fact that they've won every battle over extradition so far? Why would they pull her out now all of a sudden if they already knew about her? It seems like the timing is terrible, because now Polanski's people can start distracting with "It's not the same -- she was of legal age!" and that sort of thing.

comment #31

Gordn27 says ...

Actually, Jeff, what I'm really curious about is, what's the word/mood at Cannes as far as the Polanski stuff goes?

comment #32

gogocrank10 says ...

Here's the problem: Polanski rapes kids, or at least one kid, but he also apparently enters into consensual, legal relationships with young women. Is he pathological? An opportunistic predator? Clearly he doesn't have a clinical attraction to little girls, because that doesn't seem like the type of thing one gets over, yet Polanski has (apparently) moved on. Was it a phase? That'd be just weird.

Anyway, don't jump to any conclusions as to what he did to this new victim until the new victim explains what it was he exactly did. Not that taking advantage of her in a casting-couch situation would have been a good thing, but it's a far cry from hot-tub ass-rape.

comment #33

Mr. F. says ...

Come on, Jeff -- never give in!

Roman Polanski is a true ARTIST -- but what has Charlotte Lewis ever done as an actress? She's C-grade at best, despite her looks.

Advantage Roman! Art Gods are immortal!

comment #34

crazynine says ...

By Wells' logic, if the truth is that Polanski behaved like a perfect gentleman and treated Charlotte Lewis like a proper lady, then he'd still be an art god.

Of course, he'd also still be a child rapist.

Taking Wells to the logical conclusion:

28-year-old unsubstantiated impossible-to-prove rumor of rape: uh-oh!

ACTUAL rape: no biggie, 'twas a different time, had to be there.

The mind whirls.

comment #35

austin111 says ...

Is Polanski a child rapist? Maybe he doesn't see himself as such. After all, in some fairness to him, he went through horrible times in his childhood during the Holocaust, when he lost his entire family, wandering through his country trying to avoid the same, experiencing times as bad or worse than those of the main subject of The Pianist. Of course I'm speculating here. Maybe he himself had advantage taken of him, perhaps even sexually, as a child --- this can lead a person into similar behavior patterns. But I'm only speculating, of course. Add that to the very different and "looser" times of 30-40 years ago.

comment #36

adam1214 says ...

Don't blame his childhood trauma....He knew he was doing something wrong, and must therefore be punished. Whether he raped her or not is no longer relevant, he fled prosecution-even he will admit that. Guilty.Period. End of debate.

comment #37

jjgittes says ...

adam1214 says : "Whether he raped her or not is no longer relevant, he fled prosecution-even he will admit that. Guilty.Period. End of debate.".

More like "start of debate". His case always has been about what the punishment should be given the details/circumstances......both of the initial charge, and his subsequent fleeing.

His childhood trauma, while not an excuse, is a factor (among many) in the case, should be viewed as a factor (among many), and indeed had been already been given the nature of the plea deal.

comment #38

DeeZee says ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/entertainmentusfilmpolanskipeople

comment #39

Gordn27 says ...

"Of course I'm speculating here. Maybe he himself had advantage taken of him, perhaps even sexually, as a child --- this can lead a person into similar behavior patterns. But I'm only speculating, of course."

Wow, so now we're not even apologizing for him based on things that actually happened anymore? Hey, listen, I'm just speculating, but what if the 13-year-old girl actually drugged *him* and then raped him? Wouldn't that change everything?

comment #40

bitplayer says ...

Hunter Tylo destroyed her face with the same unnecessary surgical procedures that every LA actress gets done. She's almost unwatchable in anything now. The claim may have merit but it's dubious at best because of how and when this info came out. This is smells of a cash grab to me. If not from Polanski from The Insider, NBC, CBS, etc..

comment #41

Kenyan Born US President says ...

Unfortunate turn?

The truth hurts.

comment #42

p90x says ...

The cost for P90X is about three months of a paid gym membership but you get to keep the program forever