Actress Rosanna Arquette is speaking out against her former director, Quentin Tarantino. In a candid new interview with The Times U.K., the Pulp Fiction star addressed the long-standing controversy regarding the filmmaker’s frequent use of the N-word in his screenplays. Arquette, who played the character Jody in the 1994 cult classic, described the practice as "racist and creepy."

The actress suggested that the film industry has been far too lenient regarding Tarantino’s dialogue choices for decades. Arquette told the publication, "I think he was given an inappropriate free pass." While she acknowledged the massive cultural impact of their collaborative work, she expressed that her discomfort with the racial slurs has only grown, asserting that the language was not necessary for the film’s artistic success.

Tarantino’s scripts have been a point of contention since the 1990s, sparking public disagreements between major Hollywood figures. While director Spike Lee has historically criticized Tarantino’s writing in films like Jackie Brown and Django Unchained, long-time collaborator Samuel L. Jackson has frequently defended the work. Jackson previously told Esquire in 2019 that the language is a realistic reflection of the characters and the environments they inhabit.