Samantha Geimer said in a new interview that Quentin Tarantino was incorrect to suggest years ago that she welcomed being raped by Roman Polanski at the age of 13 in 1977.
“He was wrong. I bet he knows it,” Geimer, now 54, told the New York Daily News on Wednesday, February 7. “I hope he doesn’t make an ass of himself and keep talking that way. I’m not upset, but I would probably feel better if he realizes now that he was wrong, after 15 years, after hearing the facts. Nobody has to be pissed off on my behalf. I’m OK.”
Polanski, 84, was arrested in Los Angeles in March 1977 after sexually assaulting Geimer, who later testified in court that he gave her champagne and a quaalude before performing oral, vaginal and anal sex despite her refusals. The Rosemary’s Baby director pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor but then fled to France a few hours before his sentencing.
Tarantino, 54, found himself in hot water earlier this week after his 2003 radio interview with Howard Stern resurfaced online. At the time, Tarantino said that Geimer “wanted to have it” and “was down with this,” adding, “[Polanski] didn’t rape a 13-year-old. It was statutory rape. That’s not quite the same thing. He had sex with a minor.”
Geimer told the Daily News that she is willing to forgive the Kill Bill director for his comments. “It’s not a big deal to me what people think,” she said. “It doesn’t make a difference in my life. I know what happened. I do not need other people weighing in on what it’s like getting raped at 13.”
Geiger told the newspaper back in 2015 that she has also forgiven Polanski. “He pled guilty, served [some of] his time and I’m not quite sure what anyone expects beyond that,” she said. “That’s satisfactory to me. It should be to everyone.”