February 4, 2018

Jessica Chastain Lays Into Quentin Tarantino Over Uma Thurman Incident: ‘When Did This Become Normalized Entertainment?’

Jessica Chastain isn’t happy with Quentin Tarantino. After yesterday’s Uma Thurman interview in the New York Times, in which she both accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault and blamed Tarantino for serious injuries she sustained while filming “Kill Bill,” Chastain took to Twitter to chastise the director for his actions.

“I keep imagining Tarantino spitting in Uma’s face and strangling her with a chain for KILL BILL. How many images of women in media do we celebrate that showcase abuse? When did this become normalized ‘entertainment’?” she wrote.

“When violence against women is used as a plot device to make the characters stronger then we have a problem. It is not empowering to be beaten and raped, yet so many films make it their ‘pheonix’ moment for women. We don’t need abuse in order to be powerful. We already are.”

Thurman alleges that Tarantino persuaded her to film a scene in a stunt car she wasn’t qualified to drive, resulting in a serious crash (of which there’s footage in the original NYT article).

I keep imagining Tarantino spitting in Uma’s face and strangling her with a chain for KILL BILL. How many images of women in media do we celebrate that showcase abuse? When did this become normalized ‘entertainment’?

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) February 4, 2018

Directors inserting themselves into a scene depicting abuse is crossing a boundary. How can an actor feel safe when your director is strangling you?

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) February 4, 2018

Source: IndieWire film