Last year, in the middle of Sex Predatorgate 2017, Uma Thurman was asked about Harvey Weinstein on a red carpet. The video went viral, because Uma seemed like she was seething with rage as she chose her words very carefully about what she would not discuss at that moment. Weeks later, Uma posted a Thanksgiving message which went viral again, because she wrote in part: “Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! (Except you Harvey, and all your wicked conspirators – I’m glad it’s going slowly – you don’t deserve a bullet).” People were ready for her to tell her story whenever she was ready. Uma Thurman is ready. Uma sat down with Maureen Dowd at the New York Times. You can and should read the entire piece here:
Opinion: Uma Thurman is ready to talk about why she's angry. She tells Maureen Dowd about her experiences with Harvey Weinstein. https://t.co/ZzPMGA5TTj
— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 3, 2018
In the piece, Uma speaks at length to Dowd about how both Harvey Weinstein and Quentin Tarantino abused her… in different yet strikingly similar ways. Weinstein’s abuse is by now sadly familiar – he trapped her, literally and figuratively, he threatened her, he assaulted her, he got off on her terror, her vulnerability, her fear. He put his hands on her body without her consent, he exposed himself to her, he pinned her down in a locked hotel room and attempted to rape her. And afterwards, he told her that if she told a soul, she would no longer have a career.
With Quentin Tarantino, the abuse was different – the abuse came wrapped up in the “brilliant auteur” label. The abuse came in the form of torturing her for the sake of “art.” He spat on her, he put a chain around her neck and pulled. He forced her to do dangerous stunt work which made her uncomfortable, and left her injured on the set of Kill Bill. Tarantino insisted that she do some dangerous stunt driving, and then when she crashed the “death box” car, the studio (Weinstein) threatened her repeatedly and refused to let her see the footage from the accident. She finally got her hands on it:
After being cajoled into driving an unsafe car at dangerous speeds, Uma Thurman slams into palm tree on set of Kill Bill. pic.twitter.com/Aif6e6FSWj
— Guy Krenn (@SayGuyNotGee) February 3, 2018
She f–ked up her neck and her knees because the dashboard basically buckled and halfway pinned her to the seat. She tells the NYT that she still feels pain from the accident too, someodd 15 years later. Uma talks about how the accident soured her relationship with Tarantino, and it took years and years for them to even associate with each other without arguing.
Oh, and she also says that CAA was always in cohoots with Harvey Weinstein, that CAA agents and managers knew they were sending actresses to Weinstein like lambs to the slaughter, like CAA managers were Harvey’s g–damn pimps. Obviously, Weinstein had a lot of dumb sh-t to say in reaction to Uma’s story – he denies every assaulting her or trying to rape her, and he apologized publicly for whatever. He’s a pig.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Well, bye Quentin, you can join the ranks of people that are over.
Uma, you’re strong and you’ve done well. I hope you can now do lots and lots of self care and recover from the secondary trauma of recounting all of this.
+1,000!!
So Tarantinos fetishes of violence against women translates to real life endangerment of women. Color me shocked! Both are sick men. Harvey is a monster and deserves to rot in jail. Shun/ shame these guys if nothing else! So sorry all these women were victimized. If these A list people had these experiences I can only imagine how many regular women were brutalized.
Yup. Imagine all the little or not famous actresses who had to live with this. How many of them killed themselves? How many ended up on drugs? How many talented ones left hollyweird for good?
Are the predators all connected? And how far will this go? Will they see jail cells? Who was behind them all the time? And why now?
Yes you are very right about questioning how deep these roots go and who shares the same branches. I say go salt the earth and dry up the whole root ball! Too any aspiring women who are anonymously suffering we will take up the fight for you and welcome your stories if you decide to speak out. Hugs to all who suffered abuse in any form💖💖💖
Milla, IKR? If this is Uma’s story, and she didn’t feel comfortable telling it for two decades, there are thousands of others whose stories will never be told. And that’s just in our more “enlightened” age when women were presumed to have some rights to their own bodies. Let’s count all the famous women who didn’t survive Hollywood: Marilyn, Judy..Natalie Wood…there’s only so many names I can type on a phone.
You absolutely cannot underestimate the degree to which LA is in thrall to the ‘industry.’ It’s been that way since the industry left NYC and NJ for tiny LA back in the 1910s. That city is in the industry’s pocket and always has been since before the coverup of the Desmond Taylor murder or MGM paying an employee to take the fall for Clark Gable’s drunk driving manslaughter. CAA pandering for Weinstein isn’t unusual or even the worst thing these guys have done when you consider all the drugs they’re willing to supply as long as the talent keeps working.
QT really choked out Diane Kruger on the set of “Inglorious Bastards” That’s one instance I can think of off the top of my head
I couldn’t watch the whole video, I get empathic pain too easily. I remember when Pulp Fiction came out and was so over the top violent with graphic rape scenes and human trafficking packaged as “funny”. It was “pop culture” that made me feel so outside. As women we’ve looked at the world from outside in for too long.
I have always hated Pulp Fiction. Hated it.
I can’t imagine putting up with that kind of abuse. I can’t imagine wanting to work as an actress that much. I get irate just reading about it; I may very well have hurt both of these men.
Ugh.
Read the original. It’s not well written, Dowds skills seem to be interviewing not prose, but what Uma says, it hurts. She was assaulted by an unnamed older actor at 16. She was betrayed by her two best work friends. She was almost killed because Tarantino is up his own ass. She suffers permanent health effects from the crash.
Of note, Tarantino chose to spit and choke her AFTER he got mad at her. Tarantino also chose to personally choke Diane Krueger on Inglorious Basterds, too.
You know, I thought the same thing- it was an extremely moving account, but very poorly written. Odd for the NYT.
Dowd has always been a terrible writer. When she’s writing about lighter, more gossipy stories she has a readable if not especially good style, but it totally falls apart whenever she tackles anything serious.
It’s unfortunate she was chosen to write this. Uma’s words are so well-chosen and powerful, but they’re couched in a messy, confusing, error ridden article. The NYT should have done a lot more editing on this piece.
Ditto. I had skimmed past the byline, but it was so poorly written I went back to take a look. Yikes.
Maureen Dowd can drift away and I wish she would. She’s not very good and her Clinton obsession is both bewildering and unseemly. I wonder if Uma chose her?
Dowd was a very poor choice.
i though Uma may have “chosen” Dowd too and it was clearly a poor choice. The article was written (and edited) in a way that was virtually unreadable.
Dowd has been terrible for years. I had to wait for another account of the story to read it.
I don’t understand why this was given to Dowd instead of Kantor.
I loathe Dowd and I’m sorry she got this story.
Having sat through Maureen Dowd’s attempt to interview Robert Redford at a Kennedy Library forum, no, she’s not a good interviewer either. Redford stopped her at one point and told her that she had to ask questions that required more than a “yes” or “no” answer because that is all she was doing. When that continued, he then asked that she move to the audience questions a good 20 minutes or so before they were scheduled to do so.
Maureen Dowd is most interested in presenting Maureen Dowd. Uma and her story deserve better.
Wow, that’s quite something. Makes you wonder how she even got or kept her career.
This has me in tears. Every time I was abused by a man is always hovering in the back of my mind. Seeing her limp in the car after a horrendous high speed crash is absolutely heart breaking. The old guard can go suck each other’s dicks. Hopefully things will improve for my daughter and of course for all women. And people ask me why I don’t want a man…pffft.
This comment is upsetting. To think we are using Tarantino or Weinstein as examples of what we don’t like about men in general is alarming. These are terrible people and should not be considered the “typical man”. And this behavior shouldn’t be considered typical man behavior. Despite how many terrible people exist in the world, there are still plenty of great people. This comment and some others I’ve read lately, seem to write off an entire gender. Why can’t we recognize and punish bad people without casting a dark cloud over an entire gender. This is 50% of the entire world population we’re talking about. I know this comment is controversial and will be misunderstood, and I almost don’t want to post it for that reason, but I also think it needs to be said.
Katie, you decided that under a persons admission of trauma, that was the place to say #notallmen?
Your comment is well understood. You still chose the wrong place and wrong time.
I’m sorry lotus. It sucks that this is bringing up echoes for you and that there was anything to echo in the first place.
Spot on deets.
Seriously Katie? You find it more upsetting that someone has written off men than that they were abused multiple times? Interesting priorities. And this is one of the main reasons that a number of women, including myself, have zero patience with #not all men. You could have started your own comment thread but instead chose to chastise a survivor of abuse…
Until men and society in general can acknowledge women’s anger at bring treated like shit, and not be threatened by it, it is difficult to engage in the “not all men” conversation. We’re not there yet.
You know what, Katie? I think men will be just fine. Seeing as they’re still in control of pretty much everything, I don’t think men will be hurting for resources or approval anytime soon.
I had this debate about “men” today’; that cruelty and dominance is inherent. I know all parents LOVE their children, but my son is kind and compassionate. He’s an elite athlete, and loves his “guy” activities, but as a toddler nursed his babies and still tends to his pets with tenderness. As a ‘tween, he has girl pals, has had little romances, and thinks trophy hunting is an aberration against nature. Not ALL men are were abused/neglected as kids and need to dominate or overpower. We have to keep raising good men!
@ Katie, don’t worry so much about defending men, have you noticed how few men stood up on behalf of women regarding the recent scandals? If men are “nice” to you because the want to have sex with you, that doesn’t make them good people!
Yes, sooooo badly written. A good chunk of it read like a Vanity Fair celebrity puff piece, which was so inappropriate under the circumstances. And weird. The structure was all over the place. I kept thinking how much more powerful Uma’s account would have been if Kantor or Farrow, or any serious journalist really had written it. It’s frustrating because some of the content was quite shocking but the overall effect was dulled by the nonsense about how she looked, her house, the stupid pizza boxes in the fireplace …
Good for her for unburdening herself even a little. Absolutely vital reading.
I thought there might be something “Tarantino” to all this. Something was very off in their relationship and the “Kill Bill 3” talk seemed…obligatory. Not what I expected. He’s garbage and should have been criminally investigated. Does the name Jon Landis ring a bell Quentin? Absolute garbage.
“Oh, and she also says that CAA was always in cohoots with Harvey Weinstein”
Yep. There it is again. And where did TimesUp originate? Yep. But sure twitter will keep screaming about how all these celebrities MUST donate to TimesUp right now or else! Uh-huh. Who has control of that money and the message?
Why isn’t anyone talking about Reese and her husband? Isn’t he a bigwig at CAA and she was a leader in creating Time’s Up? Looks a little suspicious for them, no?
Alyssa Milano’s husband is a CAA agent and they rep a huge amount of the big names (Streep, Hanks, most of the Marvel Avenger actors). CAA is working the deflection hard; potential for too much embarrassment for too many money makers.
WME is not much better though. Terry Crews has just tweeted that his management was strongly advised by a producer that his involvement in the next Expendables would be less troublesome if he dropped his suit against WME. The agent who assaulted him?…Is Sylvester Stallone’s agent (and Adam Sandler’s, Emma Stone’s, oh..and Dustin Hoffman, Cash Affleck and Brett Ratner’s!).
https://mobile.twitter.com/terrycrews/status/959866819048648704
It’s about self interest. Period. It will be along time and a lot of work before I believe anything differently.
CAA as a larger agency is definitely shady and needs to have a reckoning. But Jim Toth doesn’t represent anyone associated with sexual harassment allegations does he? Nor does he represent any of the women who have come forward against Harvey.
Alissa Milano husband is an agent there too and she is o vocal about time’s up campaign, I just think it is suspicious when the angency cover for so many abusers and are and were complicit with the actions and harassment post abuse of power but is playing like the major sponsor to the cause.
Sounds like performative agenda for me and makes the whole movement suspicious.
I think people are going to start being suspicious of Times Up now. CAA is getting more and more fingers pointed at them.
Edit: I just tweeted and emailed Times Up about this. We shall see if I get a response or an email back. Curious to see what they say in light of Uma’s interview
Yeah, that’s huge. CAA, the enablers of Weinstein and his ilk, major sponsors for TimesUp. Wolves in sheep’s clothing.
“performative agenda”
Probably the bets description I’ve heard. Look at Judd Apatow. Makes harsh statements about Tarantino and Weinstein, condemns Woody Allen. None of whom he’s worked with or seems friendly with. But his friend and collaborator James Franco abuses women? Doesn’t say a word. His friend and protege Lena Dunham accuses a young Black woman of lying about being raped? Lena’s the “best person he’s ever met”. He can be both right and wrong…but I better not hear him calling out anyone about their statements of lack of. He’s all about self-interest.
CAA and WME are incredibly guilty of continuing the cycle of abuse (interestingly, UTA and Gersh don’t seem to be coming up very much if at all). I’d even say the institutions were not just complicit but accessories along with several studios and big wig producers.
But….people and a lot of journalists will keep shifting the focus to random, headline grabbing celebs like Meryl since they don’t want to alienate the big wig studios and agencies. Look at some of the Variety and THR headlines and tweets and you’ll notice the slant/choice of photos….I think Jessica Chastain even called them out once for posting a photo of her with Harvey W in which she’s semi-smiling….
Its access journalism, like how Maggie Haberman from the NYT tends to be soft on Trump in return for access.
I have a lot of questions when it comes to agencies like CAA. Time and again, we’re seeing women comment that their agents knowingly sent them to meetings with Harvey and that the Hollywood machinery was complicit in continuing his abuse. But we know almost nothing about the inner workings of CAA. Was there an executive level meeting that said “appease Harvey at all costs”? Was it just a corporate culture that at the mid-level and below had so little value for women’s bodies and salaries? Because these actresses that are so disposable were not going to be represented by those superstar agents (like both the Witherspoon and Milano spouses). They were going to be handed off to some junior agent trying to hustle up a client list at all costs.
I guess I can’t shake the feeling that there’s a schism in CAA
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Hylda “Michelle Williams’s agent just wasn’t that good” Qualley is one of the CAA women involved with the inception of Time’s Up.
Queally isn’t her agent. Michelle moved to WME in 2014.
I thought she dated tarantino. Like few yrs ago.
Either way, i feel sorry for Uma and cannot believe that hw’s victims finally don’t have to work with him. What a tragic mess all around.
Nope. They didn’t date. Just his weird obsession with her. You (and many others) fell for the way it was spun by the entertainment and gossip press. Now whether that spin was done deliberately (ie on orders or favours) or unintentionally I don’t know. I can say trusting Deadline, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, The Wrap, or any of the gossip mags to do the right thing is a HUGE mistake. They’d sell their own mother for an “exclusive!”.
Nope they didn’t date
No, they didn’t. He certainly liked implying that they did, though. At one point I think she’d had enough and pulled him up on it publicly? Harvey liked telling people that he and Gwyneth had an ‘arrangement’, and I bet she wasn’t the only name he used.
It’s a real thing with these guys to imply or lie or boast about sleeping with beautiful actresses. It’s deeply creepy – they use these women to manipulate other women – but also really pathetic and juvenile.
CAA is a large agency, and there is no reason at this point to drag Reese or Alyssa into this. This is about men and their behavior. It is about a problem at CAA but who was on the inside and who wasn’t is not known. Agents are extreme in their competitiveness and having Harvey as a client made a lot of people a lot of money but just like any corporation there may be people who need the name on their resume but personally hate the way the company is run.
We have Uma’s story about these two men. Judd isn’t responsible for James, Reese and Alyssa aren’t responsible for their husband’s employers.
How much does anyone know about anyone they are in a professional relationship? Sometimes a lot and then sometimes very little. Franco’s reputation isn’t nearly Harvey level, and for a long time, no one was looking for this behavior. How would Judd Apatow know anything about James Franco? Why is there is an assumption that he did? If we can believe some of the actresses why would someone like Judd Apatow, of all people, not be granted that same understanding?
I am more focused on how some of the satellite people who have never been accused of anything behave now as opposed to years ago. Now that we know better I want to know who will choose to do better.
Speak, girl. 🙏 so brave, so honest, so strong.
And for the record, I always knew Tarantino was a douche.
+1
He throws strong douche vibes, doesn’t he?
The Douche is STRONG in this one! I wish this surprised me in some way but it does not at all. It is so upsetting to see this car wreck video. Poor Uma! No wonder, they tried for so long to keep this damning video from her. Be strong Uma.
I’m glad that Uma acknowledged that her silence contributed to the abuse of others. No other A-Listers have gone there, since they were too busy repositioning themselves in the so-called new day in Hollywood. I absolutely agree with Dave Chapelle that everyone in Hollywood have to be honest about their role in the dysfunction.
And I’m thoroughly on board with continuously calling out CAA and the talent agencies and their major role in feeding the beast. Apparently, WMA is trying some $hit on Terry Crews, yet again.
I don’t think her silence contributed to the situation. It is admirable for her to publicly express compassion for other survivors of Harvey’s abuse but his behaviour is his own responsibility.
Violent misogyny and a complete lack of resources for survivors of rape and domestic violence is what enabled his behaviour. Uma Thurman and the other women impacted are not at fault. It’s damaging to perpetuate the notion of the ‘perfect victim’ and insinuate there’s a ‘best response’ to such a tramuatic event.
There is a famous saying,’all it takes for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing’, which is what Uma is saying. And it’s especially true of Uma or GOOP who had *some* power compared to a Rose McGowan or the lowly assistants.
Neither GOOP or Uma are responsible for his actions, BUT if they had spoke up when these things happened to them, it may have stopped Harvey either because he was publicly shamed or criminal charges brought.
Instead it took the lowly no power actresses and assistants to stand up to him and even then decades to finally stop him.
@LAK: If Uma had talked he would have ruined her career. He’d have fed some stories about her being crazy to the press and she’s have turned into Rose McGowan or Courtney Love and no one would have taken her seriously. And she knew that because when she confronted him and tried to keep him from doing it to others, he threatened her career so badly that she walked out of that room unable to talk.
PPP: Standing up when you risk losing everything is the point. Rosa Parks had everything to lose and no power. Think about that.
When Rose was attacked much earlier than Uma, but after GOOP.
Courtney Love was thought to be crazy and yet she managed to say something publicly in 2005-ish and was blacklisted by CAA.
Uma and GOOP had much more power than either Rose or Courtney.
I agree with LAK. I much prefer someone taking ownership of their regrets. Christy Turlington said the same thing. She is horrified that she was used as a way to give cover to predators. They could say they worked with her and that was enough to get naive girls to lower their boundaries and go against their instincts.
I have those same regrets. Intellectually I know I couldn’t have changed much or anything, but I do think of all the years in between my shady experience and how many girls were probably broken by the same people. For the most part, I have been lucky and spared a lot, but there were situations with people who are now outed that I wonder if I could have said just something to the right person…
The truth is the atmosphere, and environment treated these guys as if they were necessary landmines to be maneuvered. And experiences with them were told like battle stories among comrades but not like the serious events they were. Because of the nature of the job you don’t see some people for months and then gossip and trade names and horror stories and warnings. It was familiar enough not to be shocking, yet it was always the same names over and over.
However, now that everyone is talking I look back at those experiences differently. Some guilt, not loads but enough that it makes me think.
I don’t want to be the kind of person that just absolves myself of mistakes or regrets when I know they may have negatively affected someone else. There is no need to obsess, but I know next time I will have the courage to speak up.
I can’t believe anyone still claims they didn’t speak up or that if they hadn’t, they’d be somehow responsible for anything. They spoke up. Nobody listened. And it is not ever the victim’s responsibility to stop anyone.
I”m with LAK on this. It is much harder to stand up to power when you aren’t successful, don’t have millions in the bank.
Me? I was raised by a 4ft 11in firecracker Italian mother. One of us would have hit these guys over the head with a frying pan. And they would have deserved it. I can’t believe how long they got away with this horrendous behavior.
@LAK patriarchal power stuctures are why Harvey was able to commit violent crimes for decades. Trauma is complicated and it is unfair to expect survivors to speak eloquently in a timely fashion.
Arguably accusers will only listened to because his power in the industry has waned. So public accusations last year created a tipping point.
Probably we are just going to disagree on this. But on the bright side Weinstein will (hopefully) never again have the power to rape women in the film industry
No one is asking for eloquence or the perfect victim. That’s why I support Rose. We just ask that you speak up.
And the patriarchy is why I refuse any microaggressions.
We can’t always expect others to do the heavy lifting, but if I see a situation that victimised others, or has similar potential, I am going to speak up, consequences be damned.
LAK: It’s easy to say that a victim should speak up when abuse or sexual assault happens, but none of us are Uma. And chances are, none of us on this site were in her exact situation, facing the same exact trauma from the same people. Maybe she was so traumatized she wasn’t capable of getting past her own trauma to think about potential victims she could’ve helped. As someone who’s been traumatized in a different abusive situation, it took a lot of time for me to be okay and just to be able to function.
In a perfect world, Uma would be able to recover from her severe and multiple traumas and think about the potential effect that her abusers might have on other actors. However, the truth is that recovery takes a long time for many people. Even just thinking about the abuse can sometimes feel like you’re back there again. And you expect her to be able to somehow speed that painful process up to marshal her energies to stand up for others? Especially when there might be more threats and backlash if she had done so at the time of her abuse? That’s unrealistic. And it’s also insensitive to what a victim is going through and might need for her own recovery.
Emilybyrd: again i’m jot asking for perfect timing, speeded up processes or perfect victimhood. I simply ask that you speak up.
Deets below says something very important aboit how we are raised. To please others or to put them above ourselves, but how about we start with some selfishness.
As a victim, it’s more than likely that you don’t know if you are alone or if there are others also being victimised. However, you speaking up might be the drop in the ocean that makes all the difference regardless of whether you are alone or there are countless others. Stopping bad people needs to have a starting point and whether it takes years or it’s immediate, speaking up to the people who can stop the bad people is a start.
In Uma’s case, she says she confronted him and cautioned him not to assault other people, and perhaps she thought that was enough, but what about the italian model from 2015. New to America with no support system who went straight to the police after her assault. Against one of the powerbrokers of Hollywood. Who could have , and he tried, ruined her before she got started.
The difference is that she spoke up. And that put other more powerful people on the path of doing something about HW even if the model gained nothing personally from speaking up.
Thanks for your response, LAK. I think you make a fair point, and deets’ comment definitely had me thinking about how we can make change happen–and what it takes. It’s difficult for me. My gut reaction is just to be really protective of the victim and her privacy.
Many of us are less able to fight for ourselves. We’ve been brought up in ways that place others hurt above our own, and that is not easy to shake. Uma couldn’t or didn’t want to share when it was just about her, and I think this is common. When it becomes about others, about your sisters, your friends, your daughters, it becomes a different level of imperative.
Our weakness is that we put others needs above our own, but this is also our strength. Our strength is that we care for other women, and girls and that we will not let this continue to happen. This is where mama bears, and sisters, and best friends forever, this is where we shine.
We need to protect our girls. We need to change this, so it does not continue. This is, and perhaps I am projecting, part of Uma’s motivation now. As flawed as the movement is, the words stick. Times up.
I’m amazed by Uma Thurmans ability to create art and be creative in such abusive situations. I hope that the industry (and society in general) is reformed so future generations aren’t forced to suffer the same abuse and rape.
People like Kesha, Uma, Lupita, Salma and Terry Crews speaking up is so powerful. Their honesty creates change.
It’s depressing that the system is so broken victims have no real recourse besides publicly disclosed the situation. And even then they are invalidated, mocked and (often) forced to work with their abuser.
I’m not a fan of Taratino but f**k, his behaviour was abhorrent.
I argued many times with some friends telling them I strongly dislike, to the point of revulsion, Tarantino’s movies. I’ve never understood the point of so much sadism and torture, particularly against women. I can get the point of a movie without it being transforned into a snuff film.
I was told I’m too sensitive and I am not able to appreciate artistic movies. It seems Uma Thurman and Diane Krueger were tortured for real on the set of his movies, by Tarantino himself. Because what he did was pure torture. If he had choked women like that outside of a movie set, he would have been in jail. But because it happened on a set, we call real life torture “art”.
I am so with you on this. When that guy’s head gets shot off in the car in Pulp Fiction and it’s played for laughs… that was it for me.
But even I wouldn’t have thought he’d be allowed to play out his attempted-murder impulses on set. I should hope the actors’ union will express an opinion on directors choking actors and putting them in dangerous vehicles.
I found him strange when it was revealed years ago that he had a foot fetish. Looks like he had a choking fetish as well. I wonder if he will respond to Uma’s claims. I also wonder if Mia Sorvino has anything damaging to say about their relationship.
Preach. I remember reading about the Diane Kruger thing and finding it odd that so many people discuss Fincher’s habit of 50 or so takes as difficult/borderline abusive but nobody mentions that Quentin has a habit of personally “strangling” actresses and how that creepily aligns with the blatant misogyny in his films.
I got the same reaction from my ex. I haven’t seen any of the Kill bills or his other movies other than grind house and that was gross.
Kill Bill is the only Tarantino movie that I genuinely love. The rest have something that ruins it for me – either some scene that goes completely over the line, of the fact that he peppers his dialogue with the N word.
I do like Kill Bill too. The rest are ok whatever. He’s not a favorite of mine either.
In his film the hateful 8, Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character is repeatedly beaten by some of the men, and the characters did so, with glee, bacuse she was a “bad woman.” She is hanged at the end, the men watching with big grins as she slowly strangles to death. I wonder what her take on Tarantino would be.
Part of why I hated the Hateful 8 is because the seeds of an interesting movie are there, but the part that I struggled with was the entire Samuel L Jackson character, the constant use of the N word, and his gross revenge. It all just felt so gratuitous.
I also think that a huge part of Tarantino’s problem is that somewhere along the line he became untouchable. It looks like he was completely unchecked. No one edits him, no one pushes back. NO ONE spoke up for Uma on that set. It’s like everyone bought in to the “Tarantino as genius” line and just let him do whatever the hell he wanted. And to add insult to injury, his work is far worse for it.
My sister and I walked out of the theater during the intermission. The hateful 8 is really hateful. Since We could not have our koney back. Ee chose not to waste our time.
February 4, 2018 at 9:35 am
In his film the hateful 8, Jennifer Jason Leigh’s character is repeatedly beaten by some of the men, and the characters did so, with glee, bacuse she was a “bad woman.” She is hanged at the end, the men watching with big grins as she slowly strangles to death. I wonder what her take on Tarantino would be.
^
You read my mind. I was just wondering what kid of torture JJL had to endure for that film. She always plays strong (sometimes crazy) characters, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t endure some abuse. Damn, makes me sick.
There is so much that I am still digesting after reading this last night. My heart breaks for her & what she has gone through. I was expecting the awful truth about her experience with Harvey (due to the disgusting pattern of behavior he has established) but I’ll admit the Tarantino aspects of this story surprised me. I have always made assumptions… due to the “kick-ass” female characters in his movies, and his partnership with Uma. Now I realize that he is a sadistic creep, and that his movies have pointed at that all along. I can’t believe he did all of those scenes himself. It makes me ill. How confusing and hurtful for the actresses.
I was in film school when Pulp Fiction was released and EVERYONE I knew was completely obsessed with that movie. When I met my ex-boyfriend the main reason we got together was our mutual loathing of QT. I mean, we obsessively hated the man and his “art”. I’m so glad we’re finally hearing the truth about that little weasel piece of shit (no offense to weasels.)
i’m somewhat relieved to hear film students loathed QT. i’ve lived, and am not quasi religious, but can’t abide graphic violence masked as “cool”. that ethos normalizes concerning pathology, ie, sociopathic and psychopathic behavior. my opinion is unpopular, but has taken a bit of hold, thankfully.
Sing it. I actually liked his earlier movies but as he moved into greater violence, I couldn’t bear them anymore. My husband is a film scholar (PHD in film history and theory) we have agreed to disagree on this subject. Maybe he will change his mind on this, when he reads the article, maybe not.
I can’t get over the fact that when a crime is committed against a female in a film it is called “art”.
Jodorowski got an actress raped on film, and he’s a free man.
Tarantino almost got two actresses killed, yet nothing happens.
With Weinstein at least most people can agree that his actions were abusive, but within a film it’s considered normal.
Good grief, that Jodorowsky story (http://disinfo.com/2017/11/remebe/). He describes it himself! Like Polanski in his damn book! El Topo was 1970, Last Tango in Paris was 1972. That decade really was peak rape-is-art / “dating”-teenagers-as-male-celebrity-prerogrative era.
And ponder what it means for our culture that these people have been lionized to this day as the “great men” of music, art and film; that their work has become the template for mainstream cultural output. Literally, Jodorowsky’s behemoth storyboard for Dune (never produced) circulated in Hollywood for decades and inspired imagery in every mass sci-fi movie since, including Star Wars. (It’s why I appreciate extra how “woke” the current Star Wars trilogy is.)
This is why I never believed any excuses from Tarantino after the news about Weinstein broke. He is jist as bad – abusing his actors because he is in a possition of power, he also clearly gets off on violence and his films are a good indication of that. I always was suspicious of him and his “art”. This disturbing story from Uma pretty much confirms that he is not a genius, but rather his movies are a medium for his obsessions. I am sure he knew a lot about Weinstein, but never did anything not only because Quentin benefited from the silence but because even if he thinks that what Harvey did is bad, the horror of it does not rise to the level that would provoke Tarantino to act.
That is exactly what I have been thinking. He has very dark spaces within him and I wonder if he used his “art” as a way to release some of those evil thoughts and fantasies.
Tarantino was her “friend” until she became problematic and not so blind obedient then she was not part of the collaborative group anymore.
Tarantino was also complicit with Harvey and how they treated Daryl Hannah.
Also CAA is always involved with the pigs but because timesup PR manchine we are supposed to believe the agency is not trash.
It is really suspicious timesup and CAA deep connections.
I remember the gossip sites making Hannah out to be crazy and washed up. I remember reading it here years ago.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to enjoy a movie, knowing what people we forced to do.
Isn’t it? I’m having a really tough time with movies these days. Though so many people are cancelled now I am saving a ton of money
It seems more likely to me from reading the article that Tarantino was the Brett Ratner to Weinstein’s Russell Simmons, than a shocked bystander. These pigs encourage and enable each others’ vile sexual-assaulting urges.
His behaviour to her on set seems designed to punish her for her unwillingness to bend to their will.
When is CAA going to be investigated? It’s become extremely clear that they had women going into these meetings knowing full well what Harvey was doing. I also noticed that a lot of women who were associated to Harvey via gossip left CAA at some point in time. I wonder why.
Completely agree. Seems like a vile pond of vile people.
Last year Rae Dawn Chong came forward and said CAAbsent her to Steven Seagal where she was sexually harass by him. Gwyneth Paltrow set the letter for her to go to Harvey came from CAA.
This is just vile. My skin crawled reading it. And I believe every word Uma says. It’s so sad that yet one more actress I enjoy has been abused and assaulted by these two dirtbags.
On a lighter note Kaiser…can we find another word for these guys other than pig. Pigs are quite intelligent and really wonderful animals. They’ve done nothing to be associated with Weinstein and his ilk!
I’ve always liked vermin.
Agreed!! Love pigs as well. Smarter than many people 😉
Weren’t Uma and Tarantino dating a while back? After the Kill Bill movies? Maybe I’m remembering wrong, but if not I wonder how that ended up happening. She seems to have major resentment and anger towards him. (rightfully So!) I was in a relationship years ago that was very toxic. I can’t imagine ever going back to it after everything we went through. I’m sorry she had to go through all of that and suffer like that for art. It’s a shame to find this out because I love the Kill Bill movies and now they are tainted. It’s amazing to me how much wonderful art comes from really fudged up people.
IF they dated (which she denies, by the way) it would have been a decade later. She says that it took years for the anger to recede from the incidents when filming KB, so that fits her timeline.
They never dated.
This quote from Uma’s interview stands out to me. “I think that as little girls we are conditioned to believe that cruelty and love somehow have a connection and that is like the sort of era that we need to evolve out of. “So true. Girls need to know their worth.
Not every little girl is taught that so-called connection. I wasn’t. My parents banned Cinderella. and every book/movies that insinuate that “you shall wait for the guy to start breathing into life”. They were immigrants and hard workers so they taught my sisters, brothers and I very few tales. Santa Claus didn’t exist, the $20 under the pillow were my parents “sorry it hurts” and other little things like that.
I think we keep focusing on girls and women on how to protect ourselves, “be ladylike”, “soften your voice”, ‘don’t be intimidating”, etc..but it will be to no avail if boys are treated differently and are expected to “man up”, raise their voice “to show is the man in the house” to win an argument etc.. all these expressions are carved in very early on.
@Lila, this seems odd to me. Uma’s father is an incredibly well respected Buddhist scholar and academic. I studied with him at Amherst. Her mother is also a very respected activist and scholar. Her upbringing was very non traditional and progressive.
Her father also thinks she’s a reincarnated goddess. (Per the story.) That’ll f**k with anyone’s head, but especially when you’re just a normal kid trying to figure things out.
Your parents can only do so much. You grow up in a culture, not just a home.
I wasn’t raised in a home with those beliefs at all, but society encroaches regardless of how aware our parents are. I do think because of the way they treated us, the girls, our tolerance levels for being mistreated or disrespected are very low.
So it is possible she isn’t talking about her parents.
That doesn’t really mean much. There were many times at school when I was being bullied by boys and told teachers, and I was simply told that maybe we ‘just liked each other’ or that there was a romance blooming there. My parents would have never said anything like this to me, and I stood my ground (probably because I wasn’t really interested in boys), but there were many people around me in positions of authority reinforcing the ethos that if a boy harasses you, he must secretly like you, and you should be flattered.
Yes!! I hate when parents say when children are really young “But if he is hurting you or poking fun at you, it’s just to get your attention because he likes you”. Uh, no
When I had a daughter I started to say that and then stopped, realizing how awful that saying is! I’ve vowed never to say it because it definitely reinforces rape culture. Oh, he’s mean to you, he must like you. WTF?
Apparently I’ve been living under a rock cause I’m more shocked about the Tarantino allegations than anything else!In my mind Uma & Tarantino are/were close after pull-up fiction etc,& I’ve akways thought of him as that weird”Extra”looking dude..WOW!
Now Weinstein is threatening to sue Uma for statements made in this interview.
Weinstein and drump with their corrosive lies are the faces of evil.
He’s such a giant turd.
I so badly want to see Weinstein inside a courtroom. You could fill the galley with his victims and they could sit there and watch him squirm. (A girl can dream.)
That video of the crash is horrifying.
Tarantino put Thurman’s life at risk and caused her injuries all because he wanted her hair “blowing right” in a shot?!? Things haven’t changed much since Hitchcock and Hedren, have they?,
Quentin Tarantino and Harvey Weinstein are both pigs. I am done with Hollywood at this point. Uma Thurman, I have every amount of respect for her at this point. I have always loved and respected her as an actress but she has more respect from me along with other women who spoke out against this nasty disgusting, pathetic out Weinstein is.
This is straw on the camel’s back fir me with Hollywood. This abuse of power has been going on for decades and these agents, managers and publicist let these powerful hollywood producers and CEO executives get away with it. At this point, I am done with Hollywood.
CAA is owned/run by Ari Emmanuel, Rahm Emmanuel’s brother which explains the Democratic links. He was also the basis for the HBO show with Jeremy Priven. I think it is art imitating life and vice versa. CAA involvement and formation wit #TimeUP is genius. They are whitewashing their role by pretending to be savior by using the same women they whored out. “No good scandal should go to waste”..the Emmanuels playbook.
Nope. Ari Emanuel is the co-CEO of WME.
Ari Emmanuel works for William Morris Endeavor not CAA.
Tarantino is awful. He is the same guy who did nothing when Mira Sorvino was sexually harassed by HW, despite being her boyfriend during that time. Only a terrible person would do nothing in that situation.
I love Mira Sorvino, she’s such a great actress and I don’t think she really got her share of good roles. This makes me really sad.
I am so sick and tired of these “method” artist who think that the only way for to get a genuine performance is to abuse an actoractress in some way. It’s called acting for a reason.
Years ago Lisa Rinna said that she was assaulted by a director when she was 24 and dropped the same line as Uma ” “and if you ever do what you did to me again to anyone else I will tell everyone your dirty secret.””.. yet in RHOBH she said to a fan than she was a lucky nothing even happened to her ever. And this after she warned of pedophiles in Hollywood. Back then I said ‘duh’ hopefully victims will come out with their assaults stories and everything will go down the hill from there. Unfortunately , Brian Singer was the only one that was ousted and yet he is still powerful and I think it’s because of the big wees that go to great length to protect their industry, reputation, lifestyle and still to this day turn a blind eye. SO I am just ready for pedophiles to be hunted down. NOW. As for Harvey “receipt” million of women have abusive husbands, beaten and abused at home, but you’ll never now. Scars are not always out in the open. he is a vile dirtbag and while accusers are still coming forward in England I hope his day of reckoning approaches fast. and I am also think that Dr Lassar had protectors for all these years and he shouldn’t be the only one seating in jail…
I said it in the beginning when Timesup first happed and I’ll say it again. CAA involvement with the Timesup is problematic and suspicious.
I mean the NYT questioned them on their involvement after one actresses account, a couple of months ago and they gave no response. Then they come out with the Timesup and get their well known actresses to back it how convenient.
CAA did NOT form Times Up. 4 female agents from within started, but it is not a CAA entity.
I didn’t mean that they firm it just that they jumped on board, to hide behind it.
CAA hasn’t jumped aboard anything.
Yes they have they jump abord. They jump abord the movement. They were some of the first to donate. Like I said this was after Ronan farrow called them out on questionable behavior and the NYT ask for a response CAA was deafening silent.
Ronan Farrow actually left CAA. I think after being approached by Bryan Lourd at CAA to meet with Weinstein that probably did it for him after seeing how they operate.
Bryan Lourd, Carrie Fisher ex and Billie lourd father, just proves how the game is so deep behind the scenes that it is almost impossible to separate who knew, who using times up pin as PR, who is just acting surprised, it is really mess and if they want a real change they still need to call a lot of names and not protect their friends.
This (along with the breakup of her marriage) informs a lot of the decisions that Uma made in the last 10-15 years. It would seem that there’s a similar through line whenever we ask the question “what happened to this actress” – she either flat out left or the Work options dried up because of some horrible soul crushing incident with Harvey Weinstein.
The Tarantino incidents all come together to paint a larger picture – one of a man who very easily compartmentalized the experiences (and the safety) of women in order to preserve his ‘artistic’ vision. It wasn’t that he didn’t know, it was that he didn’t care because he thought his shot was more important. The man who insisted that Kill Bill wait for Uma to have her baby and get physically ready, treated her like a disposable Barbie doll. And I fully blame not only QT for completely “dehumanizing” his actresses, but the system that let him do this stuff completely unquestioned. That was a stunt heavy movie, where are all the safety measures? Who was letting QT go completely un-checked? And why? Why was he above reproach?
The answer to to your question is he had Harvey Winston’s backing. Which means the studio look the other way and allowed Tarantino to do whatever he wanted so they can get a money and Awards.
Look at Kevin Spacey on the set of “House of Cards” he was allowed to do whatever he wanted to do on set and the higher-ups did nothing, but look the other way.
That’s “how” and not “why”
As for why, they just didn’t care enough to protect women like Uma or to put in safety measures. It’s about the money and Awards and they thought Tarantino could get them both and he has.
Sigh. You’re overly simplistic here. To begin with, I was asking rhetorical questions, and you’re really only giving a surface answer on everything.
Ultimately, both Weinstein and Tarantino thrived in a culture not only of silence, but one which considered artistic ‘merit’ to not only be king, but to only be in one narrowly defined lane. Because that was how Weinstein himself was able to continue – it was “justified” by many because of both the art and the commerce, as though he were answering to some higher power. We see the same thing with Tarantino, the idea that in his pursuit of “art” he ceased to care about the women in his films as actual people. That just because he may not have had actual malice (and indeed, it would seem that his issue wasn’t that he hated someone more so that he didn’t recognize any inherent value in humanity, and therefore didn’t care about his negligence) his pursuit of “authenticity” was acceptable. He was treated as untouchable by Miramax and TWC, because his art trumped his negligence to them.
Wow, I’m so glad she felt comfortable enough to come forward and talk. I’m really concerned about the fact that she can’t remember the rest of one of her meetings with HW but the gentleman waiting for her outside (outside???) the room said she came out looking disheveled and glazed or something like that. I’m so sorry she went through all that.
I didn’t even realize that CAA was involved with Time’s Up until I read all the comments. That should be getting more news than it is. That’s extremely problematic, and somebody needs to do something about them as well.
Your right CAA involvement is problematic, but a lot of the actresses and actors supporting it have CAA management. So I don’t see them doing anything about it, but cover for them.
Sadly it’s up to us the public to call CAA out on using the Timesup as a scapegoat and hold them accountable. That is the only way something’s going to get done.
Tarantino is a sick monster. I feel really bad for Uma, having to live with severe injuries as a result of working with a sadistic ar*hole must be really hard.
Here’s a thought. Nowadays, for the sake of a scene in a movie, the American Humane Society wouldn’t allow directors to do to animals what directors like Tarantino and Aronofsky do to their lead actresses.
Brilliant.
Oh Dear God that crash footage is terrible, poor Uma. How lucky for QT she did not get further injuries but goodness I am stunned and deeply saddened for Uma, this is horrific. I’m in awe of Uma.
I know an immediate female family member of a major figure at CAA. She has a lot of terrible stories to tell about sexual abuse in their circle. Perhaps Uma’s claims will spur a deeper journalistic investigation into CAA’s complicity.
I don’t know if I’m reading between the lines too much, but to me it sounded like he actually DID raped her at Savoy Hotel. I hope I’m wrong, but it’s still tramautizing either way. She said that he forced himself on her, she tried to get away, and then had to just let it happened (while trying to get the situation under her control as much as possible and not his). The next day he sent her roses with a note that said “You have great instincts.” Then his assistants started calling again about projects.
Yes, I totally read that as Dowd hinting that and Uma not going there / choosing not to explain more / blanking out deliberately / or stopping short of reliving the horror (Dowd says Uma’s memory of the second meeting at the Savoy abruptly ends).
The friend waiting downstairs says Uma was disheveled, couldn’t speak, shaking, and out of control after the meeting. It’s really strongly hinted at.
I’m in total shock seeing that accident footage and reading the comments about CAA and time’s up, which I felt was shady but not to this extent. Thank you guys for coming through with real information. I don’t comment a lot on this topic because it hits close to home. I’m afraid because it feels like nothing will come out of all that noise but smoke and mirrors again. Those entertainment industries are truly demonic. I question everything now, which I guess is a good thing but also kind of triggering.
Poor Uma! She is stronger than she thinks. She has survived and continues to survive in spite of Weinstein and Tarantino. I hope they all burn in hell.
I wonder if any of these men Weinstein,Spacey,Cosby,etc will ever go to jail for their crimes?
It’s weird, because I’m not surprised at all about the Weinstein story or the Tarantino one, and at the same time, it’s still shocking. I always wondered why Uma had stopped working with Tarantino when she was his big “muse” and here it is. His behavior with her, a supposed friend, shows the caliber of person he is. I remember when he also insisted in being the one choking Diane Kruger in Inglorious Basterds. What I don’t understand is why are these people allowed to do things like this in a professional set. Aren’t supposed to be insurance people from the studios and actors agents? How did they allow Tarantino to put a famous actress in a deathtrap that should only be driven by a stunt performer with professional training? I wish Uma had talked more about why she didn’t sue them, was it a decision in name of her friendship with Tarantino or was she pressured not to?
I’m regularly surprised by the atrocities that are allowed to occur in the name of art.
‘CAA Management’
Don’t let them hide behind their titles. Name names.
Did anyone notice how Dowd was hinting Uma blanked out during the second Savoy meeting because she was (possibly) assaulted by HW? The friend said Uma was shaking and crazy and couldn’t speak after she came downstairs. And Dowd said Uma’s memory of the meeting “abruptly stopped.” This is all very strange and I hope Uma clears it up.
Tarantino is a horrible person. I hope she can sue and successfully sues for that car thing. I will never pay to see anything by him again.
Good on Uma for speaking out. Strong lady.
Thurman may not remember. Rape trauma can cause loss of memory. For some victims, piecing together what happened to them is as shattering as the assault.
Nothing will change until there is an examination of the SYSTEMs underlying the Hollywood machine — which includes the fact that actors, even if represented by a union, are commodities — they can always “be replaced” — movies and tv production requires many hands, including agents, managers, etc. Weinstein is a monster, but he is an individual monster continuously (and disasterously) fed by a system that doesn’t see its job as protecting the commodities/independent contractors, but protection of a (sometimes perverse) bottom line. I have been waiting for a detailed critique of the agent/manager system that creates dependencies on the part of the represented and encourages the representers to want to represent the most malleable.
Salute to Uma.
I hope im not right but when I read that she had been raped when 16 by a actor 20 years her senior, my mind went straight to dangerous liasons – it would have been filmed at that time and Malcovitch is close to 20 years her senior/…
It says it was in Manhattan and an actor she met at a club, not someone she was working with or in a movie set. Probably a theatre actor if it’s NY, and doubtful he’s well known.
She was 18 on Dangerous Liaisons. And not that it matters really but Malkovich was having an affair with Michelle Pfeiffer.
Her performance as The Bride in KB was, to me, unforgettable. To learn what she endured for that performance–and to know that she suffered so many real-life “Bills”–is heartbreaking. I’m curious as to whether this means time’s up on Q’s career or not.
How any why did she continue to work with him?! I just don’t get that part of it. They worked together for years.
I’m not sure of the timeline but it would have to be a very complicated to your question, I’d speculate she might’ve worked with him again for many different reasons. Not wanting to believe the worst about someone who claimed to be a friend (QT), not having the gift of hindsight, just about everybody around her more or less telling her to get over it, trauma, maybe it’s easier to brush things under the rug sometimes.. we’ve all done it.
I assume you mean Weinstein. Plenty of his victims kept working with him after being attacked. He was clever about it, notice how often after what he did he would find them great roles and, in cases like Uma’s, he would “respect” her boundaries after so they would feel they were in control again. He kept his distance from her after the attack, so she had no reason to pull away anymore. Very few of the actresses that downright rejected him or refused to do his movies got to keep their careers
Didn’t Tarantino strangle Diane Kruger on the set of inglorious bastards? In front of the camera for the scene she was strangled in and he actually used force. Someone needs to stop him from doing things like that to actresses.
What a heartwrenching story… I really really wish CAA would be held accountable for what it did, it’s so shameful and awful, no matter what Time’s Up or nice words they send out.. it doesn’t work, I hope people won’t forget they were (are) behind it and boycott them.
But I guess mine it’s just wishful thinking.. *sigh*
Stand strong women.
Uma’s story, her carefully thought out words, emotionally-draining restraint for purposes of detailed and exacting awareness and recall, a monumental specificity that’s been building decades deserved so much more than a print version of Megyn Kelly. Hell, I personally want to email Uma and apologize for that coverage. What she has endured deserves respect, anger, an emotional retelling that stings.
I’m beyond tired of men who keep calling this a witch hunt.
Hmmmm interesting that Paz de la Huerta who Weinstein also raped was run over by a car on the set of a film that also left her with chronic pain and injuries.