Is Hollywood defending Roman Polanski? Conservatives think so and they point to Whoopi Goldberg’s comment that a 43 year-old man drugging a 13 year-old and forcing her to have sex wasn’t “Rape-Rape” (see what Whoopi Goldberg said about Roman Polanski).
Studio head Harvey Weinstein also threw a little Grey Goose into the fire when he called Polanski’s rape of the teen girl a “so-called crime.” And they point to “Defend Polanski” petitions being signed by the thing scariest to the black helicopter brigade–The Hollywood Elite. Petition signees include Steven Soderbergh, Neil Jordan, Sam Mendes, Taylor Hackford, and Mike Nichols; writer Salman Rushdie; author Milan Kundera; and stylist Diane von Furstenberg. Here’s the best known petition demanding the release of Roman Polanski.
So conservatives are right, no? Hollywood is rushing to defend rapist Roman Polanski. Not so fast. In a searing article refuting the charge, LA Times blogger Patrick Goldstein a wooden stake through the bloodthirsty accusation. The money quote:
There’s no petition going around with the names of the real Hollywood elite — A-list filmmakers and studio chiefs like Steven Spielberg, Alan Horn, James Cameron, Amy Pascal, Jerry Bruckheimer, Brian Grazer, Tom Rothman, J.J. Abrams, John Lasseter or Michael Bay — because the real Hollywood elite isn’t supporting Polanski. In fact, they haven’t offered the slightest hint of backing for Polanski. It’s only European and New York-based artists, who clearly see the world in a very different light than the real Hollywood elite.
And one more:
Between the two petitions, there are approximately 650 signatures. Of those 650, I noted everyone who could conceivably be considered a member of the Hollywood community. My rule was, basically, if you’ve done substantive and recognizable work for a Hollywood studio in the last four decades, you get counted. I guarantee you, some of these people would not be thrilled to be labeled Hollywood players, but I’m trying to be accommodating to the opposition here.
You know what I was left with? You know how many of those 650 people I was able to fit into a box labeled Hollywood? Thirty-six names.
If you want to see how some of Hollywood’s A-listers are attacking the rapist-about-to-be-extradited: