--- title: 2003 Interview: Quentin Tarantino Defends Roman Polanski description: Quentin Tarantino defended Roman Polanski's statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl in a 2003 interview with Howard Stern. canonical: https://time.com/5135795/quentin-tarantino-roman-polanski-howard-stern-2003/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-02-06T20:44:38.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T11:37:53.000Z og:title: Quentin Tarantino Defends Roman Polanski in a Resurfaced 2003 Interview og:description: The 'Kill Bill' director said Polanski's 13-Year-Old Victim ‘Wanted to Have It’ og:url: https://time.com/5135795/quentin-tarantino-roman-polanski-howard-stern-2003/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34db8df6a8e82a12/6988facd86f68eb8d46e82b0/quentin-tarantino-defends-roman-polanski.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: "Reservoir Dogs" 25th Anniversary Screening - 2017 Sundance Film Festival og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Quentin Tarantino Defends Roman Polanski in a Resurfaced 2003 Interview twitter:description: The 'Kill Bill' director said Polanski's 13-Year-Old Victim ‘Wanted to Have It’ twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34db8df6a8e82a12/6988facd86f68eb8d46e82b0/quentin-tarantino-defends-roman-polanski.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Quentin Tarantino Defends Roman Polanski in Resurfaced Interview: 13-Year-Old Victim ‘Wanted to Have It’ ## Video: Quentin Tarantino Addresses Uma Thurman’s 'Kill Bill' Car Crash [Watch (HLS stream): Quentin Tarantino Addresses Uma Thurman’s 'Kill Bill' Car Crash](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/OmrtNXKd.m3u8) (1:58)  _Published 2018-02-06. Quentin Tarantino addressed Uma Thurman’s car crash on the set of Kill Bill_  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:37 AM UTCPublished: Feb 6, 2018 8:44 PM UTC  PARK CITY, UT - JANUARY 27: Director Quentin Tarantino speaks at the "Reservoir Dogs" 25th Anniversary Screening during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theatre on January 27, 2017 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by George Pimentel/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival) PARK CITY, UT - JANUARY 27: Director Quentin Tarantino speaks at the "Reservoir Dogs" 25th Anniversary Screening during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles Center Theatre on January 27, 2017 in Park City, Utah. (Photo by George Pimentel/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival)George Pimentel—Getty Images for Sundance Film F  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:37 AM UTCPublished: Feb 6, 2018 8:44 PM UTC In a New York _Times_ story published on Feb. 3, [Uma Thurman](http://time.com/5132174/uma-thurman-harvey-weinstein-quentin-tarantino/) alleged that director [Quentin Tarantino](http://time.com/4990423/quentin-tarantino-harvey-weinstein-knew-about-allegations/) persuaded her to perform a dangerous car stunt on the set of _Kill Bill_, which resulted in an accident that seriously injured her. Soon after the story ran, Tarantino [addressed Thurman’s claims](http://deadline.com/2018/02/quentin-tarantino-uma-thurman-harvey-weinstein-kill-bill-car-crash-new-york-times-1202278988/) in an interview with _Deadline_, calling the incident “one of the biggest regrets of my life.” But Tarantino is now facing criticism for comments he made during a 2003 interview with Howard Stern, which resurfaced on Monday night. While on the show, Tarantino was discussing the case of [Roman Polanski](http://time.com/5096700/greta-gerwig-woody-allen-interview/), who pleaded guilty in 1977 to unlawful sex with the then 13-year-old Samantha Geimer. The [_Hollywood Reporter_](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/quentin-tarantino-defends-roman-polanski-resurfaced-audio-13-year-old-wanted-have-it-1082174) quotes Tarantino as telling Stern’s co-host, Robin Quivers, that the young actor, a minor, “wanted to have it.” “He didn’t rape a 13-year-old. It was statutory rape…he had sex with a minor,” Tarantino said. “That’s not rape. 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 doesn’t apply to everything people use it for.” Tarantino doubled down on his defense of Polanski when further questioned by Stern and co-host Robin Quivers. --- > “” --- Audio of the interview was pulled from YouTube on Tuesday due to a copyright claim by Sirius XM, according to [_Variety_](http://variety.com/2018/film/news/quentin-tarantino-defends-roman-polanski-interview-1202688885/), but the relevant portion is [available here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHx7lkz9sbI). In an [interview with the New York _Daily News_](http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tarantino-wrong-polanski-rape-consensual-geimer-article-1.3803904) on Tuesday afternoon, Geimer said Tarantino “was wrong” to categotize statutory rape as consensual, adding, “I bet he knows it.” She said she is a fan of the director’s and, although she hopes Tarantino realizes he was wrong, she isn’t fazed by other people’s take on the story. “It’s not a big deal to me what people think,” she continued. “It doesn’t make a difference in my life. I know what happened. I do not need other people weighing in on what it’s like getting raped at 13.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5135795/quentin-tarantino-roman-polanski-howard-stern-2003/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5135795/quentin-tarantino-roman-polanski-howard-stern-2003/"},"headline":"Quentin Tarantino Defends Roman Polanski in Resurfaced Interview: 13-Year-Old Victim ‘Wanted to Have It’","datePublished":"2018-02-06T20:44:38.000Z","dateModified":"2024-01-24T11:37:53.000Z","description":"\"He had sex with a minor. 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