Quentin Tarantino has apologised for comments that he made on The Howard Stern Show back in 2003, where he defending his fellow director Roman Polanski's sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in 1977.
During the 2003 interview - the footage of which recently resurfaced and shared on social media - Tarantino had repeatedly claimed that it was 'not rape', overlooked the fact that the girl, Samantha Geimer, had been drugged and given alcohol, and said that 'she wanted to have it'.
His comments were roundly denounced and now he has apologised for making them, saying that he was 'ignorant'.
In a statement issued to Indiewire, he wrote:
"I want to publicly apologize to Samantha Geimer for my cavalier remarks on the Howard Stern Show speculating about her and the crime that was committed against her,” he wrote. “Fifteen years later, I realize how wrong I was. Ms Geimer WAS raped by Roman Polanski. When Howard brought up Polanski, I incorrectly played devil’s advocate in the debate for the sake of being provocative. I didn’t take Ms Geimer’s feelings into consideration and for that I am truly sorry. So, Ms Geimer, I was ignorant, and insensitive, and above all, incorrect.”
Geimer herself spoke about Tarantino's comments in the New York Daily News earlier this week, saying " “He was wrong. I bet he knows it … 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.”
