Quentin Tarantino has an incredible oeuvre of filmsthat span multiple genres and star a wide array of some of Hollywood's biggest names. From his breakout mobster crime thrillerReservoir DogstoDjango Unchained, there is nothing the auteur is afraid to take on.
One thing that is a hallmark of all of Tarantino's films is his very graphic and sometimes raw use of language that has sometimes left audience members feeling uncomfortable because of its vulgarity and unapolegetically liberal use of words that are offensive to different cultures.
In the filmsPulp Fiction, The Hateful Eight,andDjango Unchainedin particular, the repeated use of racial epithets has left viewers squirming in their seats. Performers who work with Tarantino definitely have opinions on some of the lines he has written for them, and they have spoken about it.
Samuel L. Jackson is perhaps the director's most treasured muse, having worked on six of Tarantino's nine films. He sat down for aninterview with Jasmine Simpkins of HipHollywoodto discussThe Hateful Eightand defended his use of one particular word that almost everyone in 2025 finds to be particularly taboo and hideous.
"I always hear people criticizing him, and I always say you're not paying attention to what's going on. You're just listening for words." Jackson said, matter-of-factly.
One of his co-stars in the film, the legendary Bruce Dern, spoke about how he approached using the N-word in scenes opposite Jackson, "I went up to him (Jackson), and I didn't apologize to him...I told him you know where I'm coming from (as a fellow actor)."
One of the most uncomfortable characters that Tarantino wrote was Calvin Candie, the racist slave owner inDjango Unchained. DiCaprio was having a hard time saying this racial slur repeatedly. Itwas Jackson who put him at ease,according to co-star Jamie Foxx, “The subject matter. The N-word, specifically. Leo had a hard time saying the N-word. We’re doing a read, and Leo says, ‘Hey, guys. Cut! I just can’t do this. This is not me.’ Samuel L. Jackson goes, ‘Say that s—, motherf—–! It’s just another Tuesday. F– them,”
It will always be a subject that is brought up for the obvious reasons, but having Jackson's blessing seems to have let Tarantino off the hook, and the two have created some of cinema's best scenes and movies because of it. Nevertheless, it is something you have to get past if you're going to enjoy his movies.
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