Mounting anger at Hollywood clan that backed Polanski...

Hollywood stars flock to causes. An A-list name can boost the profile of a charity, highlight a far-off tragedy or reverse a grave injustice. So when Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland on the way to a film festival, it is perhaps no wonder that the great and the good of the film world rushed to plead for his freedom.

The list of supporters giving Polanski their impassioned support read like a Who's Who of the cream of the movie-making world. It included, among many others, Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, Harvey Weinstein, Pedro Almodóvar and Ethan Coen.

But rather than rallying mass public support for the beleaguered film-maker – director of such undoubted classics as Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby and The Pianist – they have provoked an extraordinary backlash.

Led by a handful of outspoken female voices, a rising tide of opinion has instead applauded Polanski's arrest for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old back in 1977. They have turned the focus on the crime itself, calling the director an accused rapist who abused a child. More...

Don't miss:

1. Reminder: Roman Polanski raped a child...
2. Roman Polanski has lots of friends...
3. Polanski's defenders lose sight of the true victim...
4. Swiss justice minister explains the Polanski arrest...
5. Polanski's arrest sparks shock, outrage...
6. A paedophile photograph... Polanski... why on earth does the arts world think it is immune from morality?