The Paris Court of Appeal confirmed on Wednesday the acquittal of Roman Polanski, who was accused of defamation by the British actress. The director had described« odious lie » the latter's rape accusations.
British actress Charlotte Lewis lost on Wednesday December 4 on appeal the defamation lawsuit she had filed against director Roman Polanski for calling her a liar when she accused him of rape. The filmmaker was acquitted in May 2024 by the Paris judicial court.
Charlotte Lewis appealed this decision, but not the prosecution. The 91-year-old director could then still be ordered to pay civil damages. The one who is accused of sexual assault and rape by several women, including Charlotte Lewis, had described as« odious lie » the latter's accusations. The Paris Court of Appeal « confirmed the judgment undertaken » in first instance, which acquitted the 91-year-old filmmaker last May. The Paris Criminal Court considered in its acquittal judgment that there was no evidence in the remarks pursued « no fact likely to harm the honor and consideration of the civil party ».
In 2010, during a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival, Charlotte Lewis recounted having been attacked during a casting organized at Roman Polanski's house in Paris in 1983, when she was 16 years old. To illustrate the “contradictions” according to them of the complainant, Roman Polanski's lawyers had unearthed during the trial an interview given by the actress in 1999 to the tabloid News of the World where she expressed her admiration for the director who in 1986 gave her a role in his film Pirates.
Roman Polanski, who notably won an Oscar and a Palme d'Or at Cannes for The pianist has been accused of sexual assault and rape by around ten women in his career. He has always disputed these accusations. He has been considered a fugitive in the United States for more than forty years, following a conviction for « illegal sex » with a 13-year-old minor, Samantha Gailey (now Geimer).
