Quentin Tarantino defended Roman Polanski for statutory rape of 13-year-old: ‘She was down to party’

Quentin Tarantino defended fellow director Roman Polanski for statutory rape in a newly resurfaced 2003 interview, saying the 13-year-old girl was dating Mr. Polanski and was “down to party” at the time.

Asked by radio host Howard Stern why “Hollywood embraces this mad man, this director who raped a 13-year-old,” Mr. Tarantino responded, “He didn’t rape a 13-year-old. It was statutory rape, that’s not quite the same thing.”

“He had sex with a minor. That’s not rape,” the director continued. “To me, when you use the word rape, you’re talking about violent, throwing them down — it’s like one of the most violent crimes in the world. You can’t throw the word rape around. It’s like throwing the word ‘racist’ around. It just doesn’t apply to everything people use it for.