Roman Polanski Rape Victim Samantha Geimer Says Tarantino Remarks Were Misconstrued

In a wide-ranging new interview, Geimer sets the record straight on her remarks on the director's resurfaced radio interview and his apology to her.

Samantha Geimer wants the world to know that she did not "call out" or "slam" Quentin Tarantino after an old interview resurfaced in which the director said that Geimer's rape at 13 years old by director Roman Polanski was "not rape" and Geimer "wanted to have it."

After the Hateful Eight director's comments on a 2003 show with Howard Stern resurfaced this week, Geimer provided a response to some media outlets and was quoted as saying, "I know what happened. I do not need other people weighing in on what it's like getting raped at 13." On Thursday, Tarantino publicly apologized for his remarks, saying, "Fifteen years later, I realize how wrong I was." Tarantino also called Geimer at her home in Hawaii to personally apologize.

Geimer has publicly forgiven Polanski, who gave her pills and alcohol and then had unlawful sex with her in 1977 at the residence of Jack Nicholson. While Polanski fled the U.S. in 1978 before sentencing in court, Geimer has testified that Polanski should be sentenced to "time served" and not face another trial should he return to the U.S. In 2014, she wrote a memoir about her experiences, The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski.

"What I was really trying to say to those who called is, I don’t care. I don’t care what anyone says, I’m not upset, this and worse has been happening to me for years. And mostly, I am aware that my rape is being used to attack him and I really don’t like that," Geimer said in an interview with Indiewire published Friday.

She also addressed Tarantino's personal apology, which she said was "nice." "I think he realizes that the things he said to be shocking involve an actual person — me — and he wasn’t thinking about that at the time," Geimer said. "He felt bad about it." She added that she took the opportunity to ask him about his movies, and that his 1993 film True Romance is one of her favorites. She said she also asked him about his upcoming film on Charles Manson and the Sharon Tate murders, a premise that she said was "freaking me out."

Of apologies in general, Geimer added that though she didn't think she needed one from Tarantino, "[that] once I saw it in writing the next day, I realized, it did make me feel better. So, apologies — I think you should take them, even if you don’t want them."

She also weighed in on the #MeToo movement sweeping Hollywood, saying that it was important for victims to make a choice in their decisions to speak out or not on their experiences. "I think if you’re a victim of sexual assault or a crime, do what you decide to do. Come forward, don’t come forward. Speak out about it, don’t speak out about it. It’s individual and nobody should be pressured or forced to be quiet or talk," she said.

Tarantino's 2003 interview resurfaced in the wake of a feature on Uma Thurman published in The New York Times, in which Thurman accused Tarantino of ordering her to drive a car for a shoot that she deemed unsafe, and after which she sustained injuries. Thurman also alleged that Tarantino had spit on her and choked her during scenes for his 2003 film Kill Bill; those actions were supposed to be performed by other characters.