Following numerous sexual assault and harassment allegations, levied against even some the most lauded male members of Hollywood in recent months, we're almost immune to shocking revelations about male Hollywood power figures.
However, today we were caught off-guard, after listening to a newly resurfaced audio recording of Quentin Tarantino.
The unearthed clip is from a radio interview with Howard Stern, from an interview that was conducted in 2003.
In the interview, Quentin Tarantino can be heard repeatedly and vigorously defending film director Roman Polanski against accusations that he had drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl.
It is worth noting, that Polanski had already pled guilty, in 1977, to the charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and had served jail time for these criminal acts.
Tarantino's comments in the radio clip are not that the events did not take place, but that you could not classify it as rape, because 'she wanted to have it,' and was 'down to party with Roman'.
'He didn't rape a 13-year-old,' Tarantino told Stern. 'It was statutory rape...he had sex with a minor. That's not rape. To me, when you use the word rape, you're talking about violent, throwing them down — it's like one of the most violent crimes in the world. You can't throw the word rape around.'
To be clear, the definition of rape is 'a crime, typically committed by a man, of forcing another person to have sexual intercourse with the offender against their will'.
Polanski's 13-year-old victim, Samantha Geimer, stated in her court testimony that she repeatedly told him 'no,' that Polanski had given her part of a Quaalude (a heavy sedative) and had also given her champagne. In the court testimony, she also stated: 'I knew I was not where I should be. I just didn't quite know how to get myself out of there' and that she was 'afraid of him.'
Polanski was 43-years-old at the time.
The BBC reports, Stern's co-host Robin Quivers had reminded Tarantino that Polanski's victim had been given psychoactive drugs and alcohol before being assaulted.
However, Tarantino continued to come to Polanski's defence.
Tarantino replies in the clip: 'No, that was not the case at all. She wanted to have it and dated the guy.
Later in the interview, Tarantino told Stern he accepted the act was illegal, and that he'd 'beat the hell' out of any man who had sex with his 13-year-old daughter, if he had one.
'I don't believe that's rape,' he continued. 'I believe it's against the law. I don't believe it's rape. Not at 13 - not for these 13-year-old party girls.'
Quivers told Tarantino that Polanski could have avoided the situation by not socialising with minors, to which the director responded: 'He likes girls.'
Last year, after the woman who was assaulted by Polanski asked an LA court to end the case against the Oscar-winning director, saying she had forgiven him.
In response to the resurfaced interview of Tarantino defending Polanski, several high-profile stars have come out to voice their disgust at his remarks.
Freaks and Geeks actress Busy Phillips tweeted about her experience of auditioning with the filmmaker:
Melissa Silverstein, the founder of Women and Hollywood - a group that advocates for gender diversity and equality - tweeted:
Listen to the resurfaced interview between Howard Stern and Quentin Tarantino here.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
