People seem to forget that Roman Polanski pled guilty to raping a 13-year-old girl, and not many have read the girl's testimony in that criminal case, which is graphic and disturbing and of course, online at The Smoking Gun.
By running off to France and avoiding jail time, Mr. Polanski is now deemed by many to be worthy of reprieve. It's his age. He's an artist. He's done so much to contribute over all these years of self-imposed exile. In France.
As someone who represented abused and neglected children for three years in the local Children's Court, all this stuck in my craw. Sexual abuse of young girls is not to be tolerated, and by the way - did anyone read what happened here? Really?
So, when I learned that Michael Douglas - a member of Hollywood Royalty - declined to sign a petition on behalf of Roman Polanski, with the publicized remark that it would be "unfair" for him to do so for "someone who did break the law," I was impressed.
After all, Mr. Douglas was in Cannes to promote his film, the sequel to Wall Street, entitled "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps," and avoiding controversy might have helped his efforts there.
It took courage of conviction for someone - even someone of Michael Douglas' stature in the entertainment industry - to do this. So many in Hollywood appear to be on Team Roman.
Already a fan of Michael Douglas - I'm now going to make sure and see "Money Never Sleeps" and every subsequent film in which Michael Douglas appears. Good for him.
Status of the Polanski Case
Roman Polanski sits in house arrest in Geneva, Switzerland right now. He's fighting to stay out of a California jail. I'm confident his efforts will not be successful.
Recently, a British actress named Charlotte Lewis has come forward with allegations that Mr. Polanski sexually assaulted her at the age of 16. She's represented by Gloria Allred, and she's gonna need it.