When Hollywood stars tried to free Roman Polanski with a 2009 petition – Far Out Magazine

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Back in 2009, Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland after a request from the United States authorities to do so. However, a year later, the Swiss government and police rejected the US’ request and released Polanski from detention in Zurich. The reason was partly due to a petition signed by several high-profile members of the Hollywood film industry.
The petition read: “We demand the immediate release of Roman Polanski. Film-makers in France, in Europe, in the United States and around the world are dismayed by this decision. It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by police to apprehend him.”
Many luminaries of the film industry added their names to the petition following Polanski’s arrest prior to him receiving a lifetime achievement award in Zurich. Amongst them were a swathe of high-profile names, including Woody Allen, David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Tilda Swinton, Darren Aronofsky, Monica Bellucci, Asia Argento and Wes Anderson. This list is a paltry portion of the total number of A-list film celebrities with their names on the petition.
The fact that so many of the film industry’s stars signed the petition is just downright shocking. The reason that Polanski was arrested in Zurich was down to his original arrest in 1977. He had been charged with the despicable act of raping a 13-year-old girl. After pleading guilty to statutory rape, Polanski served just 42 days in prison before he was released on a plea bargain.
However, after catching wind of the fact that a judge was set to reject the plea bargain, Polanski fled to Paris and subsequently remained out of the United States so he could resist further arrest. He lived out the rest of his life in Europe, though he was disgracefully adorned with several awards and nominations, including the Oscar for Best Director for 2003’s The Pianist.
The petition went to show how little Hollywood cared for serious crimes of a sexual nature, as it had also done for the likes of Woody Allen. It remains to be seen whether, in today’s society, the petition would have even got off the ground, especially given the resounding support of those speaking out against the barbaric depravity of Harvey Weinstein.
However, Natalie Portman previously expressed regret at signing the petition. She said, “I very much regret it. I take responsibility for not thinking about it enough. Someone I respected gave it to me and said, ‘I signed this. Will you too?’ And I was like, ‘sure’. It was a mistake.”
Though she added, “The thing I feel like I gained from it is empathy towards people who have made mistakes. We lived in a different world, and that doesn’t excuse anything. But you can have your eyes opened and completely change the way you want to live. My eyes were not open.”
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