Quentin Tarantino may be trying to act like a woeful choirboy in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations, but he seems all the more mendacious in the light of an old interview in which he claimed Roman Polanski’s 13-year-old rape victim “wanted to have it.”
Tarantino defended Polanski during a 2003 Howard Stern interview — which resurfaced on Jezebel — saying, “He didn’t rape a 13-year-old … he had sex with a minor. That’s not rape.”
When reminded by Stern sidekick Robin Quivers that Polanski’s victim was plied with drugs and alcohol, Tarantino said, “No, that was not the case at all. She wanted to have it [sex] and dated the guy … Look, she was down with this.”
Tarantino, who ruefully said of Weinstein, “I knew enough to do more than I did,” was accused by Uma Thurman of forcing her to do a car crash stunt in “Kill Bill” that left her injured, plus he spat in her face and choked her with a chain because he didn’t trust a trained actor to do it.
Tarantino called the Uma crash “one of the biggest regrets of my life.” It was met with horror in Hollywood.
Jessica Chastain tweeted, “I keep imagining Tarantino spitting in Uma’s face and strangling her with a chain…..How many images of women in media do we celebrate that showcase abuse? When did this become normalized ‘entertainment’?…. How can an actor feel safe when your director is strangling you?”