Quentin Tarantino isn't quietly absorbing Rosanna Arquette's criticism of his language choices in Pulp Fiction. In a statement released to Deadline, the 62-year-old director accused the actor, who appeared in the film, of chasing attention after she told the Times of London she's "over the use of the n-word" and slammed his repeated deployment of it as "not art" but "just racist and creepy." In his statement, Tarantino replied that he hopes the "publicity" Arquette is ostensibly receiving from her complaint "was worth disrespecting me and a film I remember quite clearly you were thrilled to be a part of," adding that her comments show a "lack of class" and "honor."
Arquette, 66, who had a supporting role in the 1994 film, acknowledged the movie as "iconic" and "a great film on a lot of levels," but she said she simply hates the slur's presence. The word appears around 20 times in Pulp Fiction, more than 30 times in Tarantino's Jackie Brown, and upward of 100 times in his Django Unchained, by some counts.
Tarantino has long faced pushback over his use of the slur, including from Black directors Spike Lee, who once called him "infatuated" with it, and Lee Daniels, who criticized Tarantino's suggestion that offended audiences should simply watch something else. One person who's come to Tarantino's defense on the matter: actor Samuel L. Jackson, who's appeared in multiple Tarantino films and recently noted that Tarantino's use of the n-word is "not offensive in the context" of his movies, per the Guardian. Read Tarantino's note to Arquette in full here.
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