Harper’s magazine editor Lewis Lapham has taken the stand in fugitive filmmaker Roman Polanski’s libel case against Vanity Fair, retelling the story that led to the lawsuit in the first place. In the article in question, Polanski was said to have tried to seduce a young actress on the way to his wife’s funeral, offering to make her a star in exchange for sex. In court, Lapham remained firm in his memory of the incident, saying he wa “impressed by the remark [Polanski made to the actress], not only because it was tasteless and vulgar, but because it was a cliché.”