Quentin Tarantino’s terminology is a big problem for Rosanna Arquette. The actress from Desperately Seeking Susan, who starred in Pulp Fiction as the wife of Eric Stoltz’s character Lance, a drug dealer, believes the filmmaker shouldn’t have employed racist language in the 1994 masterpiece.
“It’s iconic, a great film on a lot of levels,” Arquette remarked about Pulp Fiction in a recent interview with The Times, a UK publication. “But personally, I am over the use of the N-word — I hate it.”
Arquette went on to say that she finds it offensive because Tarantino has kept using the derogatory term throughout his body of work. “I cannot stand that he has been given a hall pass,” she responded. “It’s not art, it’s just racist and creepy.”
Tarantino’s use of the N-word in his films has drawn criticism from other celebrities besides Arquette. After it appeared numerous times in his 1997 crime drama Jackie Brown, Spike Lee publicly criticized the Reservoir Dogs director.
That year, Lee said, “I’m not against the word,” to Variety. “And I use it, but not excessively. And some people speak that way. But Quentin is infatuated with that word. What does he want to be made — an honorary Black man?” Lee continued, “I want Quentin to know that all African Americans do not think that word is trendy or slick.”
In a 2022 CNN interview, Butler director Lee Daniels shared similar thoughts. Regarding Tarantino’s usage of the slur, he remarked, “Ten years ago, 15 years ago…” “I would have checked it off as artistic. But ‘n—–‘ is our word. That’s my word. And you have no right to say that.”
