Quentin Tarantino Under Fire for Response to Uma Thurman Interview
It seems that director Quentin Tarantino has been hiding a hefty stash of skeletons in his gigantic Hollywood closet, and in recent days we’ve witnessed them come tumbling, one by one, out into the light.
First, there was the revelation that actress Uma Thurman suffered permanent injuries while performing a Kill Bill stunt Tarantino had promised her was safe. Uma told the story in a New York Times exposé that detailed the alleged sexual assault she suffered at the hands of certified Hollywood monster Harvey Weinstein, who produced Tarantino and Thurman’s most successful joint projects.
In an interview with Deadline, Tarantino addressed the accident.
“Me and Uma had our issues about the crash,” said Tarantino. “She blamed me for the crash and she had a right to blame me for the crash. I didn’t mean to do it. I talked her into getting in the car, I assured her the road was safe. And it wasn’t. The car might even have been dubious too, even if I didn’t know that then.”
In the interview, he also defended the fact that he choked Thurman and spit on her during the filming of Kill Bill, basically saying it wasfor dramatic effect.
Tarantino managed to dig up the footage of the crash, and Thurman shared it on Instagram:
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Uma Thurman (@ithurman) on
Though it doesn’t seem like it was Thurman’s intention, the story thrust Tarantino into the spotlight, and people began digging for dirt.
On Monday evening, Jezebel posted the audiofrom a 2003 interview with Howard Stern, in which Tarantino says Roman Polanski’s infamous 1977 sexual assault on then 13-year-old Samantha Geimer wasn’t rape and that she was “down to party.”
“He had sex with a minor. That’s not rape,” Tarantino says in the tape. “To me, when you use the word rape, you’re talking about violent, throwing them down… it’s like one of the most violent crimes in the world.”
He continues to defend his position for the length of the interview, despite the protests of Stern and his co-host, Robin Quivers.
Geimer decided to weigh in on the tape, and in an interview with the New York Daily News, calmly explained that Tarantino was mistaken.
“He was wrong. I bet he knows it,” said Geimer. “I’m not upset, but I would probably feel better if he realizes now that he was wrong, after 15 years, after hearing the facts,” she said. “Nobody has to be pissed off on my behalf. I’m okay.”
Not surprisingly, numerous Hollywood folk have taken to social media to provide commentary on the director’s undoing.
Diane Kruger, who starred in Tarantino’s 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, posted on Instagram in defense of Tarantino, writing: “I would like to say that my work experience with Quentin Tarantino was pure joy. He treated me with utter respect and never abused his power or forced me to do anything I wasn’t comfortable with.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Diane Kruger (@dianekruger) on
While actor Busy Phillips took to Twitter to express her regret at auditioning for him:
That I fucking showed up in SHORT SHORTS AND FLIP FLOPS as requested because I WANTED THE JOB. This business sucks and enables predators and FUCKING ENOUGH.
— Busy Philipps (@BusyPhilipps) February 6, 2018
In an interview with The Guardian, Melissa Silverstein, founder and publisher of Women and Hollywood, brought the focus back to what the man is known best for: his films.
“There are a lot of men in our culture who are put up to us as visionaries and auteurs,” she said. “The stories that we’ve been told about them are stories that are based on a culture that is now no longer acceptable. We all want to ask the question, why are these people and why are these films the narrative of our culture? We are saying we want different kinds of narratives, and we want different kinds of stories.
What’s your take? Tell us @britandco.
(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty)