Rosanna Arquette Slams Tarantino for ‘Creepy’ Use of Racial Slur
Quentin Tarantino, left, and wife Daniella Pick are seen at the Cannes film fest in France on May 17. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
Quentin Tarantino is pushing back strongly against criticism from Rosanna Arquette over the language used in his film Pulp Fiction.
In a statement shared with Deadline, the 62-year-old filmmaker accused Arquette of seeking publicity after she told The Times that she’s “over the use of the n-word” in his films. Arquette argued that the repeated use of the slur in Pulp Fiction was “not art,” describing it instead as “racist and creepy.”
Tarantino responded sharply. In his statement, he said he hopes the “publicity” Arquette is receiving from her criticism “was worth disrespecting me and a film I remember quite clearly you were thrilled to be a part of.” He also suggested that her comments demonstrate a “lack of class” and “honor.”
Arquette, now 66, had a supporting role in the 1994 movie. While criticizing the language, she acknowledged that Pulp Fiction is “iconic” and praised it as “a great film on a lot of levels.” Still, she said she strongly objects to the presence of the slur in the script. According to estimates, the word appears roughly 20 times in Pulp Fiction, more than 30 times in Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, and over 100 times in Django Unchained.
The director has faced similar criticism before. Filmmaker Spike Lee once said Tarantino seemed “infatuated” with the word, while director Lee Daniels previously objected to Tarantino’s suggestion that viewers offended by the language could simply choose not to watch his movies.
However, Tarantino has also had defenders. Actor Samuel L. Jackson—who has appeared in several Tarantino films—recently told The Guardian that the use of the slur in Tarantino’s work is “not offensive in the context” of the stories being told.
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