A few weeks ago, I mentioned in an Emma Thompson post that she was one of the many entertainment people who signed the Roman Polanski petition. I didn’t want it to be true, this cruel, cruel cut. The thought of Emma faltering after so many years of being awesome was just too difficult for me to face. Now it looks like I can love my Emma once again – because she’s asking to have her name removed from the petition. According to Jezebel (linked from LaineyGossip), when Emma gave a scheduled speech at Exeter University a few nights ago, she was challenged (politely) by a student named Caitlin. Caitlin was heartbroken, like many of us, that Emma had signed the petition, so she organized another petition, a “take your name off that other petition, Ms. Thompson” petition. Caitlin got 410 signatures and numerous comments, all of which she brought to the meeting she had set with Emma. Here’s what happened next, according to Caitlin (via Jezebel):

Emma did not have much time between meetings, but she gave me all of the time that she had. I asked her why she had signed the petition, and she explained about how well she knows Polanski, how terrible his life has been, and how forgiving the survivor of the rape all those years ago now is.

She said she thought the intentions of the judge were unclear, as were the intentions of those who arrested him recently. She told me that a lot of her friends had rung her up asking her to sign the petition, so there had been a certain amount of pressure. She said that she had already been thinking a lot about the petition, as others had expressed their dismay at her signing it.

I handed her our petition and the comments. She read them both through thoroughly, and came back to me. She said, while she supported Polanski as a friend, a crime is a crime. I don’t know whether she had realised the extent of Polanski’s crime, but she is now fully aware. She will remove her name from the petition – in fact, she said she would call today and sort it out. Even though, she stressed, Polanski has had some truly terrible experiences in his lifetime, experiences that we couldn’t even imagine and which should not be taken out of the equation, she agreed that she could not put her name to a petition asking for his release.”

Assuming that she will be true to her word, her name will be removed in the very near future. Hopefully the press will pick up on it.

She left me with this, to pass on to everyone who has signed the petition/raised awareness of this issue: “Know that I will remove my name because of you, and all of the good work that you have been doing. I have read your petition. I have heard you. And I will listen.”

[From Jezebel]

While I totally applaud Emma for seeing the error of her ways, and changing her mind with thoughtful grace, I know I’m not really alone in thinking Emma’s reasons for initially signing the damn thing were a bit sketchy. Jezebel points that out too. They sum up celebrity reasoning as: “he’s suffered, he’s charming, the victim wants it dropped, judicial shenanigans, all the cool kids are signing — minus any thought of what he actually did to the victim in 1977, before fleeing the country.” While I think some of those reasons should be factored into what happens to Polanski once he comes back to America, they should not be a factor in people wanting his immediate release. Still, I’m going to give Emma credit – she listened to her critics, weighed her thoughts carefully, and changed her mind, acknowledging her error. That’s more than any other signer has done.

Here’s Emma with Carey Mulligan and Dominic Cooper at the Times BFI London Film Festival’s screening of “An Education” on October 20th. Images thanks to WENN.com .