Rosanna Arquette has criticised Quentin Tarantino's use of the N-word in his 1994 film Pulp Fiction, calling it 'racist and creepy'. In an interview with the Sunday Times, the actress, who played Jody in the film, said: 'It's iconic, a great film on a lot of levels. But personally I am over the use of the N-word – I hate it. I cannot stand that [Tarantino] has been given a hall pass.'
Pulp Fiction, which won the Palme d'Or and an Oscar for best original screenplay, features the N-word multiple times, including by Tarantino's own character Jimmie. Tarantino has faced repeated criticism for his liberal use of the term in his films.
In 1997, director Spike Lee told Variety that Tarantino was 'infatuated with that word', asking: 'What does he want to be made – an honorary black man?' Samuel L Jackson, who starred in Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown, defended Tarantino, saying the word was not offensive in the context of the film.
Tarantino defended himself in a 2015 interview with Bret Easton Ellis, stating: 'In a lot of the more ugly pieces, my motives were really brought to bear in the most negative way. It's like I'm some supervillain coming up with this stuff.'
In the same interview, Arquette also spoke about refusing Harvey Weinstein's sexual advances in the early 1990s, saying her career suffered as a result. 'I was fortunate because I was not raped. But, boy, was it going there and I paid a price for saying no,' she said.
