Franco-Polish filmmaker Roman Polanski is on trial in Paris today (March 5) to face allegations that he defamed British actress Charlotte Lewis, who accused him of sexual abuse.
The 90-year-old director currently resides in Paris, but is not due to appear in court according to his lawyers. Lewis, who starred in the director’s 1986 film Pirates, claimed in May 2010 that Polanski had sexually assaulted her during an audition at his Paris home in 1983 when she was just 16 years old.
In December of 2019, Polanski refuted her accusations as an “odious lie” in an interview with Paris Match magazine and cited inconsistencies in Lewis’ account of the events.
Following that interview, Lewis filed the defamation lawsuit taking place in French court today. Polanski had cited quotes from a 1999 article in UK tabloid The News of the World, in which Lewis was quoted as saying of Polanski: “I was fascinated by him, and I wanted to be his lover.” Lewis however claims the quotes attributed to her were not accurate.
Polanski is still a fugitive from U.S. justice stemming from a rape case involving a 13-year-old in 1977. The director of Chinatown, The Pianist, and Rosemary’s Baby also faces multiple accusations relating to other alleged sexual assaults dating back decades, all of which he has denied and has continued to make films.
The three-time Oscar and Palme d’Or winner’s latest film The Palace premiered at Venice in September out of competition, but Polanski did not attend.
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