The Inquisitr » whoopi goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg Defends Roman Polanski

Bang — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:10:26 +0000

Whoopi Goldberg has defended Roman Polanski, saying he did not commit “rape-rape”.

The ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ filmmaker was arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, on Saturday September 26, and faces being extradited to the US after he fled the country in 1978. This is after being convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl, believing a judge would renege on a plea bargain deal and hand him a considerable jail term.

Whoopi has now caused controversy by suggesting Polanski’s offense, which took place in 1977 was not as serious as the court deemed it.

She said on US TV talk show ‘The View’, “It was something else but I don’t believe it was rape-rape.

“He went to jail and when they let him out he was like, ‘This guy’s going to give me 100 years. I’m not staying.’

“We’re a different kind of society, we see things differently. Would I want my 14 year old having sex? Not necessarily, no.”

Whoopi’s co-host on the show, Sherri Shepherd, vehemently disagreed with the ‘Ghost’ star’s reasoning over Polanski’s attack on Samantha Gailey, now known as Samantha Geimer.

She posted on her Twitter page, “Whew… long day at The View… two shows today… hot debate over the Statutory Rapist Polanski. 45-year-old man plies a 13-year-old w/ drugs and liquor and penetrates her w/o her consent is a RAPIST. We hunt down 75-year-old Nazis. We must protect our children (sic).”

Meanwhile, Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen are among a group of people in the film industry who have signed a petition objecting to the 76-year-old director’s arrest.

More than 100 people, including Tilda Swinton, Monica Bellucci, David Lynch and Terry Gilliam, have put their names on the document, which calls for Polanski’s release from the Swiss jail where he is currently being held.

The group, supported by France’s Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers said, “The arrest of Roman Polanski in a neutral country, where he assumed he could travel without hindrance… opens the way for actions of which no one can know the effects.

“It seems inadmissible to them that an international cultural event, paying homage to one of the greatest contemporary filmmakers, is used by the police to apprehend him.”

The director’s lawyers have made a legal petition asking the Swiss Criminal Court to release him from custody and block his extradition to the US. The legal team want Polanski – who has lived in Paris since fleeing the US and holds dual citizenship in Poland and France – to be allowed to post bail or be remanded on house arrest at the Swiss chalet he owns.

Denise Richards Gives Us Too Much Info

Meieli Sawyer — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:07:18 +0000

Denise Richards’ kids have been through enough, so I wish that she could leave them out of it for a while. I don’t know if her blabbing is for publicity or just because she can’t keep her mouth shut, but the poor things need a break. I don’t want to imagine them reading this later on down the road:

My kids are in therapy. It’s very sad that they need to be there, but they do for now. On the other hand, it’s good they have an outlet to deal with their feelings and someone who is just their advocate.

“Just” an advocate? I thought that mothers were good for that, but maybe Denise is just used to delegating with her big new show and all.

Maybe Whoopie’s concerns were even more grounded than they seemed at the time.

Whoopi. . . Not the Biggest Fan of Denise

Meieli Sawyer — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:21:40 +0000

Talkshow The View has turned out to be a secret hotbed of cattiness– whoever called this show “light” is seriously mistaken. As we say again today– with the fury only reminiscent of last year’s political issues. At least it wasn’t host-on-host this time.

Denise Richards was the guest today on The View, where she managed to totally infuriate Whoopi Goldberg in short time. She may have been on to talk about “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated” and her post-Charlie life, but Whoopi touched on another sensitive subject: her children and the fact that they’re “exposed” on a reality TV show. Denise maintained that she’s a “work at home” mom and can make a living while still being with her children, but Whoopi had other ideas about her new venture:

But [your kids are] there. These are little kids. If you want to keep them private, to keep your life private, do you not think this is a little extreme to open it up? You’re going through this huge thing and I just wonder if the timing might not be great.

Hey, at least somebody said it. Denise’s mission of proving that she’s not a homewrecker is playing second fiddle now. Bet her publicist looooves that!