Diane Kruger Defends Quentin Tarantino: He Was ‘Pure Joy’ to Work With

“Inglourious Basterds” actress speaks out after accusations made by “Kill Bill” star Uma Thurman

Diane Kruger
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Following “Kill Bill” star Uma Thurman’s accusations against director Quentin Tarantino, actress Diane Kruger — who worked with him on the 2009 film “Inglourious Basterds” — defended the filmmaker, saying that working with him was “pure joy.”

In an Instagram post Tuesday, Kruger wrote, “In light of the recent allegations made by Uma Thurman against Harvey Weinstein and her terrifying work experience on ‘Kill Bill,’ my name has been mentioned in numerous articles in regards to the choking scene in ‘Inglourious Basterds.’ This is an important moment in time and my heart goes out to Uma and anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual assault and abuse. I stand with you.”

Kruger continued, “For the record however, I would like to say that my work experience with Quentin Tarantino was pure joy. He treated me with utter respect and never abused his power or forced me to do anything I wasn’t comfortable with. With love, D xoxo.”

In an interview published by the New York Times, Thurman blamed Tarantino for a “permanently damaged neck” and “screwed up knees,” as well as the feeling that she had been reduced to a “broken tool” during the filming of a famous scene in “Kill Bill.

In the climax of the film, Thurman’s character, Beatrix Kiddo, is seen driving through Mexico in a blue Karmann Ghia as she looks for Bill. Behind the scenes, Thurman told the Times’ Maureen Dowd that she wasn’t comfortable driving the car after a teamster told her there might be problems with the vehicle because its transmission had been reconfigured.

Thurman wanted a stunt driver to do it, but acquiesced after a “furious” Tarantino talked to her in her trailer.

“He said: ‘I promise you the car is fine. It’s a straight piece of road,’” she recounted. He persuaded her to do it, and instructed: “‘Hit 40 miles per hour or your hair won’t blow the right way and I’ll make you do it again.’ But that was a deathbox that I was in. The seat wasn’t screwed down properly. It was a sand road and it was not a straight road.”

In the film, the result of the drive is a shot from the backseat of Beatrix driving down the sandy road. But in real life, Thurman lost control of the car and crashed into a palm tree, suffering a concussion and damage to her back and legs. She says that after she came back from the hospital, she and Tarantino had an “enormous fight” over the incident.

Tarantino responded to Thurman’s accusations on Monday, telling Deadline that the crash was “the biggest regret of my life” and saying, “I am guilty, for putting her in that car, but not the way that people are saying I am guilty of it.”

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