Roman Polanski wins defamation case as court upholds acquittal

In France, the legal battle between filmmaker Roman Polanski and British actress Charlotte Lewis reached a significant milestone when a French appeals court confirmed Polanski's acquittal in a defamation case. This ruling came after a previous decision by a Paris criminal court in May, which found Polanski not guilty of calling Lewis a liar about her allegations of rape. The defamation case stemmed from comments Polanski made during a 2019 interview where he referred to Lewis's accusation as a 'heinous lie'. While Lewis insisted that she was raped by Polanski when she was 16 in 1983, the court's ruling strictly addressed the issue of defamation and did not implicate the validity of her claims of sexual assault. Charlotte Lewis's lawyer expressed disappointment with the verdict, arguing that it essentially permits Polanski to defame individuals through media without consequence. Lewis herself stated that the decision was disheartening for women who come forward to report their experiences of assault, indicating her belief that the ruling set a troubling precedent. Following the court's confirmation, the prosecution did not support Lewis's appeal, which effectively solidified Polanski’s legal victory over the claims. This case has been part of a broader context of allegations against Roman Polanski, who is infamously known for fleeing the United States after being charged with the sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in 1977. Notably, in the years leading up to this case, several women had publicly accused him of sexual misconduct, many of whom stated that their own reputations had been tarnished amid the media coverage of Polanski’s long-standing legal troubles. Lewis, who also appeared in Polanski's 1986 film 'Pirates', had resurfaced her allegations in 2010, hoping to counter the implication that Polanski's previous incident was an anomaly. Despite numerous allegations against Polanski throughout his life, legal systems in multiple European countries have largely chosen not to extradite him to the United States, where he remains a fugitive from justice. The acquittal in this defamation case serves as a grim reminder of the complications faced by victims who speak out against high-profile individuals. The ruling also sheds light on the tensions between public figures making statements that could harm someone's reputation and the legal repercussions that follow.