Roman Polanski rejects rape allegation

The Frenchwoman Valentine Monnier accused Roman Polanski of having beaten and raped her in 1975 a few weeks ago. The director has now clearly rejected the allegation in an interview with "Paris Match".

"You try to make me a monster," said Polanski, the first time publicly commented on the new allegations. The 86-year-old said, "This story is absurd."

The details of the photographer, who used to work as a model, are wrong. Polanski added, "It's easy to blame someone if the crime has been barred for decades and there's no trial to relieve me." Previously, France's Minister of Culture Franck Riester had already warned against a prejudice - and spoke of an "opinion tribunal".

Protests against Polanski film

Before the launch of his new film "J'accuse" (German title: "Intrigue"), Monnier accused Polanski, who lives in France, of raping her at his home in Switzerland. After protests by women's rights activists, some cinemas in France took the film out of the program, and a well-known directing association has initiated a procedure to exclude Polanski.

According to Monnier, she had invited a friend to the holiday in Switzerland, which included the stay in Polanski's chalet. After an evening departure, Monnier reports that she and Polanski have returned to the house to change. Polanski would have called her to where he had expected her naked. Next, he would have beaten her, removed her clothes, tried to give her a pill and eventually raped her.

Exclusif - Roman Polanski: "On essaie de faire de moi un monstre" https://t.co/7CbNa0ZsWG

It is not the first allegation of sexual assault against Polanski. He had admitted to having passed away in 1977 at the then 13-year-old Samantha Geimer. In a book, Geimer described six years ago that Polanski wanted to make her docile with champagne and part of a pill.

Polanski had fled the US in 1978, where he is still threatened with a rape case. The Oscar Academy closed the director, who won the 2003 Oscar for "The Pianist", won the Oscars.