Michael Douglas Refuses To Sign Roman Polanski Cannes Film Fest Petition

Actor Michael Douglas seems to have some sense of integrity, other than his political persuasion which is typical Hollywood. When his son was arrested for drug dealing and sentenced to 5 years in jail, he didn't bitch and moan about the fact, he simply pleaded for leniency. His son could have faced a possible 10 years in prison, but felt the 5 years was an "adequate amount of time." Most celebrity parents would have tried to keep their offspring out of jail completely, but Douglas said

"Look, my son was a drug dealer and he's been trying to kill himself for a while and I can't condone his behavior," Douglas said on the morning show. "So I think the court recognized his drug addiction as well as the crime he committed ... and the best part of it is he will be able to start his life afresh."

Prior to Cameron facing his prison sentence, his father submitted a hand-written letter to the judge, asking him to be lenient with his son. He wrote, "I love my son, but I'm not blind to his actions. ... I don't want to see him break."

He told Lauer, "The fact is, with all the mistakes and the disease that Cameron has, he's a great young man and I wouldn't be supporting him if I didn't feel that way. So yes, I think the judge was put in a difficult position."

Douglas also happens to be one of the few celebrities who has refused to sign a new petition to release convicted child molester Roman Polanski. Last December a slew of entertainment industry celebs signed one. Now there's a new petition, coinciding with the Cannes Film Festival, sponsored by wacky French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy (on his website) once again calling for Polanski's immediate release.

Signatories of the petition include French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard, French actor-director Mathieu Amalric and Cannes best director laureate Bertrand Tavernier.

Douglas, who has a film in the fest, "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps", has also refused to sign this one, claiming in an interview that

it would be "unfair" for him to sign a petition for "somebody who did break the law."

In the interview with RTL radio broadcast on Friday, Douglas said Polanski had been given "some bad advice" when the scandal broke.

There have been others who were willing to buck the Hollywood trend of believing that since it was Roman Polanski it was okay for him to have sex with a 13-year-old girl, but not many. And you have to wonder if those same people who did sign it will still think it's okay that he also sexually abused a 16-year-old girl, in Paris in the 1980s, 4 years after he abused the 13-year-old. That is, if the allegations are true. One does have to wonder what took the woman so long to come forward, but apparently 42-year-old Brit actress Charlotte Lewis claims she is speaking out now because of Polanski's attempts to beat extradition to the U.S. from Switzerland. Her attorney, Gloria Allred has stated that there are no plans for legal action, but that Lewis will testify if needed. The fact that Polanski's "..legal team is portraying his previous offense against a minor as an isolated instance," prompted Lewis to come forth. The woman could be lying, but whether she is or not, still does not justify releasing Polanski. Bottom line is, he sexually abused an underage girl and there are laws against that, even for famous directors.

But Douglas obviously respects the law, and you have to respect him for that. Good for him.