Roman Polanski Cleared of Defamation in Case Tied to Charlotte Lewis Rape Allegation
Roman Polanski was cleared of defamation charges in France in a case tied to a rape allegation brought by the British actress Charlotte Lewis.
As The New York Times reports, Lewis accused Polanski of raping her in 1983, when she was 16, during a casting session for the film Pirates at his home in Paris (Lewis later appeared in the film). In a 2019 interview with the French magazine Paris Match, Polanski denied Lewis’ allegation, calling it an “odious lie”; he also brought up an old 1999 tabloid interview in which Lewis spoke positively about him.
It was these comments that prompted Lewis to file her defamation suit against Polanski. The court ultimately did not rule on the veracity of Lewis’ rape allegation against the filmmaker, but rather if Polanski had overstepped a free speech boundary and defamed Lewis in responding to her allegations.
After the decision was handed down, Polanski’s lawyer, Delphine Millet, told reporters, “The question the court was addressing was whether you can defend yourself publicly when you are publicly accused. The answer is yes.”
Lewis, meanwhile, said she intended to appeal the decision, telling reporters: “I feel sad, I feel let down… For us, it’s not over.”
During the trial in March, Lewis took the stand, while Polanski did not appear in court. During her testimony, Lewis said that, ever since she first accused Polanski publicly in 2010, she’d been the victim of a “smear campaign” that had “nearly destroyed” her life (via The Guardian). When asked about the 1999 tabloid interview (with the now-defunct News of the World), Lewis said her quotes about Polanski — such as, “I wanted to be his lover” — were not accurate.
While the defamation case began with a lawsuit filed by Lewis, in France, these matters are automatically transferred to a criminal court as opposed to playing out in civil court like they would in the U.S. During the case, prosecutors involved expressed doubts about the defamation claim and did not push for a ruling against Polanski.
Polanski has faced a handful of sexual assault and rape allegations over the years, including claims leveled by the German actress Renate Langer, the French actress Valentine Monnier, and the American artist Marianne Barnard (Polanski has denied the claims). Most infamously, Polanski pleaded guilty in Los Angeles to having sex with a 13-year-old, Samantha Geimer, in 1977, after which he fled back to his home country of France, which does not extradite his citizens. Polanski is still wanted in the United States, though Geimer has asked that the case be dropped “out of mercy for myself.”
Polanski is also now facing a new civil suit in Los Angeles, brought by an anonymous woman who has accused the filmmaker of giving her alcohol and raping her in 1973 when she was underage. Polanski has denied the allegation. The case is set to go to trial in August 2025.