Many in Hollywood have a weird obsession with not only defending but actually celebrating convicted child molester and current fugitive Roman Polanski.

Polanski, of course, is the acclaimed director of such films as “Chinatown” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” and he was convicted in 1978 of the rape of a 13-year-old girl. He has also been accused several more times of sexual assault.

Due to a controversial court case, Polanski ended up fleeing the country hours before he was to be sentenced. He has since been a fugitive of the law — regularly needing to avoid American authorities.

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Many in Hollywood don’t seem to care about Polanski’s misdeeds or his criminal status within the United States. Since his conviction, he’s been awarded the Academy Award for Best Director; many top stars still celebrate him.

He’s steadily worked and shot films with such supposed liberals as Ewan McGregor and Jodie Foster.

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One of his Hollywood defenders is apparently Quentin Tarantino. The praised director has been in hot water in recent months over his confessed knowledge of some of Harvey Weinstein’s alleged abuses. He also pushed actress Uma Thurman to perform a stunt in the “Kill Bill” films that was clearly dangerous. Thurman is one of many actresses to accuse Weinstein — who produced the “Kill Bill” films — of assault.

Audio has now been unearthed and is making its way around social media from an interview between Howard Stern and Tarantino in 2003, in which Tarantino defends Polanski and makes disgusting excuses for the fugitive director’s crimes.

“He didn’t rape a 13-year-old. It was statutory rape … He had sex with a minor. That’s not rape,” said Tarantino. “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.”

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Stern’s co-host, Robin Quivers, brought up the fact that the young girl was found to have drugs in her system.

“No, that was not the case at all. She wanted to have it [sex] and dated the guy … Look, she was down with this,” Tarantino responded.

He added, “And by the way, we’re talking about America’s morals, not talking about the morals in Europe and everything.”

Even shock-jock Stern found the comments repulsive and repeatedly challenged Tarantino on them.

Tarantino is yet another example of an artist who can see so clearly in his work — yet seems so blinded to reality when he’s having an everyday discussion.

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Newsflash to Tarantino: A 13-year-old girl cannot be “down with” sex with a man in his 30s. Also, differing cultures do not matter when it comes to sexual relations with a girl who is just barely a teenager.

Mind you, this defense comes from a man who also recently said of his former friend and producer Harvey Weinstein: “I knew enough to do more than I did.”

So while he was getting on a soapbox and defending pedophilia, Tarantino was also aware of sexual misconduct by a man he was continuing to empower and make rich — through his association with him.

How can those in Hollywood continue the trend of defending and even celebrating people like Polanski?

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On top of his Best Director Oscar in 2003 for “The Pianist” (which he could not accept in person because he would have been arrested if he entered the United States), Polanski has had plenty of hypocrites take his side.

Actor Ewan McGregor received heat last year after he canceled an appearance on a show co-hosted by Piers Morgan, the British journalist and television personality who had criticized the Women’s March in January of 2017.

McGregor took issue with Morgan’s comments — yet he was totally willing to sing Polanski’s praises.

He had starred in 2010’s “The Ghost Writer” for Polanski and had nothing but glowing praise for the man.

“I’m very fond of him,” the actor said of his director to ABC News. He also said he wouldn’t comment on Polanski’s case because it had “nothing to do” with him. Apparently, though, Morgan’s opinions had everything to do with the actor.

At a time that Hollywood is supposed to be turning a meaningful corner and casting out people like Harvey Weinstein, the constant defense and celebration of Polanski needs to stop.

Sexual assault and harassment at the hands of people like him have been an issue in Hollywood for too long — and so has the incessant need on the part of others to defend such monsters.

PopZette editor Zachary Leeman can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.

(photo credit, homepage image: Roman Polanski erhält das Goldene Auge, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Zff2012; photo credit, article image: Roman Polanski and Emmanuelle Seigner…, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Georges Biard / Quentin Tarantino, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore)