Polanski cleared in defamation case amid renewed controversy

A court in Paris acquitted Roman Polanski of defamation charges. In response to her earlier allegations, Charlotte Lewis accused him of calling her a liar.

The case involved accusations made by British actress Charlotte Lewis, who accused the director of rape and was then called a liar by him in an interview with "Paris Match" in 2019.

The court considered whether Polanski's words, alleged to have damaged Lewis's reputation, crossed the boundaries of permissible criticism and whether they constituted an abuse of freedom of speech. The director's defenders argued that Polanski defended his excellent name, repelling public accusations. After a long consideration of evidence and witness statements, the judge ruled that Polanski's words did not cross the limits of permissible defence of one's reputation, finding him innocent of defamation.

Roman Polanski has long been at the centre of controversy. Recall that already in 2010, Charlotte Lewis accused him of forcing her into sexual contact when she was just 16 years old. This accusation came to light during the Cannes Film Festival, where the actress stated that this incident destroyed her career.

In response to the charges, Polanski spoke about his difficult situation when he was arrested in Switzerland in 2009 at the request of American authorities, which, according to him, was intended to extradite him. The accusations by Lewis appeared shortly after this event, which, in the director's opinion, was an attempt to exploit the situation.

In an interview with "Gazeta Wyborcza" in 2019, Polanski said the accusations were part of a campaign against him. He also emphasized that this fact is part of a broader problem related to respecting human rights in his case, comparing his experiences to medieval witch trials, where the accused were at least granted the right to a final word.