Rosanna Arquette is condemning the use of the N-word in Quentin Tarantino‘s filmography.
During a Saturday interview with The Times U.K., the actress looked back on Pulp Fiction, where she portrayed the wife to Eric Stoltz’s character. Arquette noted that the film was “iconic” and “great,” though she said she believed Tarantino has been given a “hall pass” when it comes to using the word in his work.
“It’s iconic, a great film on a lot of levels,” she said of Pulp Fiction. “But personally I am over the use of the N-word — I hate it. I cannot stand that he [Tarantino] has been given a hall pass. It’s not art, it’s just racist and creepy.”
The use of the N-word in the director’s body of work has been scrutinized in the past. In particular, his 2012 film Django Unchained, which stars Jamie Foxx as the titular character of Django who is a slave, sparked debate at the time. The movie includes over 110 times where both Black and white characters use the N-word.
Spike Lee spoke out against Django Unchained in 2012, telling Vibe magazine that “it’s disrespectful to my ancestors. That’s just me. … I’m not speaking on behalf of anybody else.” The Malcolm X director also notably criticized Tarantino’s “excessive use of the N-word” following the release of his 1997 film Jackie Brown.
“I have a definite problem with Quentin Tarantino’s excessive use of the N-word,” Lee said at the time. “And let the record state that I never said that he cannot use that word — I’ve used that word in many of my films — but I think something is wrong with him.”
Tarantino responded to critics backstage in the winners room at the 2013 Golden Globes, after he won the best screenplay award tied to Django Unchained, and said the N-word himself.
“They think I should soften it, that I should lie, that I should massage,” the filmmaker said. “I would never do that when it comes to my characters.”
Ahead of the movie’s December 2012 release, Tarantino told The Hollywood Reporter that “not one word of social criticism that’s been leveled my way has ever changed one word of any script or any story I tell.”
“I believe in what I’m doing wholeheartedly and passionately,” he added. “It’s my job to ignore that.”
Django Unchained received five nominations at the 85th Academy Awards; Christoph Waltz won the Oscar for supporting actor while Tarantino won for best original screenplay (marking his second Oscar).
