4 Nov 4th, 2009

Emma Thompson Removes Her Name From The “Free Roman Polanski” Petition

Posted by James Brady Ryan

emma thompson Emma Thompson Removes Her Name From The Free Roman Polanski Petition

Welcome back to the side of the sane, Emma. We’re happy to see you again.

During her visit to Exeter University, Thompson - an Oscar-winner for both acting and screenplay writing, which is amazing - was approached by a reader of the blog Shakesville, asking her about why she signed the petition to let someone off the hook for raping a thirteen-year-old girl in the first place. She then showed Thompson a petition of her own, one started on the blog which asked that the actress remove her name from the list. Apparently, she got results:

She read them both through thoroughly, and came back to me. She said, while she supported Polanski as a friend, a crime is a crime. I don’t know whether she had realised the extent of Polanski’s crime, but she is now fully aware. She will remove her name from the petition – in fact, she said she would call today and sort it out. Even though, she stressed, Polanski has had some truly terrible experiences in his lifetime, experiences that we couldn’t even imagine and which should not be taken out of the equation, she agreed that she could not put her name to a petition asking for his release.

Mmm, the delicious smell of reason. Can’t beat it!

Now we just need to convince Natalie Portman, Penelope Cruz, Gael Garcia Bernal, Martin Scorsese, Diane Von Furstenburg…

pixelstats trackingpixel

Share this article:


 Tags: , , , , , ,


4 Comments

Kudos to Emma Thompson for having the courage to admit she was wrong.
The case was misrepresented for so many years as statutory rape, which implies that the sex was consensual, and photos of the victim demonstrated she didn’t look like a child, so it was easy to see this as a government who wanted to punish a foreign artist and to reflexively take his side. If nothing else, Polanski’s arrest has brought to light the fact that he drugged and raped a person outright, a person who resisted his advances, a crime regardless of the age of the victim.

alimum commented on Nov 04 09 at 3:01 pm

I find it strange that the same people who are condemning Roman Polanski are the same people who are buying Michael Jackson tshirts.

Maxwell Hammer commented on Nov 04 09 at 8:02 pm

Are they the same people? Or are you just saying things?

zzzt commented on Nov 05 09 at 8:24 am

Also, being a convicted fugitive is a wee bit different from being accused and acquitted.

kerriestella commented on Nov 05 09 at 5:35 pm

Add a Comment