Quentin Tarantino Criticized For ‘Racist and Creepy’ Use Of The N-Word In His Movies

Quentin Tarantino is facing accusations that he has been given a “hall pass” to use the N-word in his films, something one white actress calls “racist and creepy.”

Spike Lee has long criticized Quentin Tarantino for his use of the N-word in his movies, and now a white actress who appeared in one of his acclaimed films is also speaking out, calling the filmmaker’s repeated use of the controversial word “racist and creepy.”

Rosanna Arquette, who played the wife of Eric Stoltz’s character in Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction, recently spoke about the acclaimed flick, saying that while she considers the Oscar-nominated film “iconic” and “great,” she believes 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 told The Times U.K. “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.”

In Pulp Fiction, Tarantino faced criticism for writing himself into a scene as the character Jimmie, who repeatedly uses the N-word while speaking to Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta. The filmmaker’s decision to include the slur multiple times, particularly through a white character he played himself, has long fueled debate and drawn criticism.

Spike Lee has long criticized Tarantino for his frequent use of the N-word in his films. After the release of Tarantino’s 2012 movie Django Unchained, which stars Jamie Foxx as the enslaved protagonist Django, the film drew attention for its repeated use of the slur by both Black and white characters. Lee publicly condemned the film, telling Vibe magazine that “it’s disrespectful to my ancestors. That’s just me… I’m not speaking on behalf of anybody else.”

The Academy Award-winning BlacKkKlansman director had previously raised similar concerns about Tarantino’s “excessive use of the N-word” following the release of the 1997 film Jackie Brown, which starred Pam Grier.

“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.”

However, Tarantino has not only defended his use of the term in his films, but he also used the word while speaking to reporters after winning the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay for Django Unchained.

“If someone’s out there actually saying it when it comes to the word “ni–er,” that, the fact that um, I was using it in the movie more than it was used back in the antebellum South, in Mississippi, in 1858. Well, then they might have a, you know, feel free to make that case,” Tarantino told a stunned crowd of reporters. “But no one’s actually making that case. So, in other words, what they’re actually saying is I should soften it. They are saying I should lie. They’re saying I should white-wash. They’re saying I should massage. And I never do that when it comes to my characters.”