David Lynch regretted defending Roman Polanski, daughter claims
The daughter of David Lynch has claimed that the director came to regret signing an open letter in defence of the convicted filmmaker Roman Polanski.
Polanski, who was behind a number of classic films including Rosemary’s Baby, fled the US after being charged in 1977 over the alleged rape of a 13-year-old girl. He has remained in Europe since and currently resides in Paris.
However, he was arrested in Zurich in 2009 as part of an extradition agreement between Switzerland and the US, which prompted a legal battle that ended with the European nation eventually declaring him free.
At the time, over 160 Hollywood stars signed their names to a petition calling for Polanski’s release, including Lynch, Martin Scorsese, and Wes Anderson. Although the director never discussed this publicly, the controversial move was recently brought to light in a TikTok video, to which Lynch’s daughter, Jennifer Lynch, responded on her father’s behalf, following his passing earlier this year.
She wrote in a lengthy comment under the video: “This was a very tough situation and conversation for me with Dad. I found out he signed it after he had done it, and when we spoke, I was both heartbroken and angry. We had words about it, but he never defended doing it,” noting that Lynch saw himself as “joining many other artists in trying to help Polanski try to redeem himself”.
The Twin Peaks director’s daughter added: “I can tell you that after our conversation, he regretted signing it. He had done it for the wrong reasons and had ignored the horrible actions of an artist whose work he respected. He was changed in our talk. I explained what his support said about him as a human being, and I didn’t think his true self would do that.”
Explaining that “there is no justifying his signature,” but that there was “true regret,” Jennifer Lynch concluded her comment by saying: “It was wrong and callous for him to do. He saw that far too late, but he did see it.”
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.
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