Whoopi claims Polanski was not guilty of rape

London (ANI): Actress Whoopi Goldberg has sparked anger by claiming that Roman Polanski wasn"t guilty of rape. The actress and comedian defended the filmmaker during a segment on talk show, The View, reports the Mirror.

The 53-year-old said of Polanski"s confession to sex with a girl of 13 in 1977: “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 gonna give me 100 years. I"m not staying," she added.

Later in the programme, she added: “We"re a different kind of society, we see things differently. Would I want my 14-year-old having sex? Not necessarily, no."

However, Amelia McDonnell-Parry, of website The Frisky, has accused Goldberg of being an “apologist for rape". In 1977, Polanski was convicted of 'unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor"; he subsequently fled the United States and is presently (since 27 September 2009) under arrest in Switzerland pending extradition proceedings.