Uma Thurman Says Tarantino Isn’t to Blame for ‘Kill Bill’ Crash Cover-Up

Uma Thurman’s own allegations against Harvey Weinstein were published over the weekend, but Maureen Dowd’s chat with the actress for The New York Times left many with the impression that she also had a bone to pick with longtime friend and collaborator Quentin Tarantino — who, as evidenced by newly-obtained footage, placed Thurman in a dangerous situation resulting in a car crash on the set of Kill Bill. Although Thurman’s harrowing ordeal is irrefutable, the actress is setting the record straight regarding who exactly is to blame for an accident that was clearly preventable.

While many celebrities, including Judd Apatow and Jessica Chastain, blasted Tarantino for the car crash and Thurman’s resulting injuries, the actress took to Instagram to clear the air:

i post this clip to memorialize it’s full exposure in the nyt by Maureen Dowd. the circumstances of this event were negligent to the point of criminality. i do not believe though with malicious intent. Quentin Tarantino, was deeply regretful and remains remorseful about this sorry event, and gave me the footage years later so i could expose it and let it see the light of day, regardless of it most likely being an event for which justice will never be possible. he also did so with full knowledge it could cause him personal harm, and i am proud of him for doing the right thing and for his courage. THE COVER UP after the fact is UNFORGIVABLE. for this i hold Lawrence Bender, E. Bennett Walsh, and the notorious Harvey Weinstein solely responsible. they lied, destroyed evidence, and continue to lie about the permanent harm they caused and then chose to suppress. the cover up did have malicious intent, and shame on these three for all eternity. CAA never sent anyone to Mexico. i hope they look after other clients more respectfully if they in fact want to do the job for which they take money with any decency.

A post shared by Uma Thurman (@ithurman) on Feb 5, 2018 at 10:15am PST

Thurman defended Tarantino, who finally broke with the Weinsteins to deliver footage of the crash that had been allegedly withheld as part of a cover-up for 15 years. The actress commended Tarantino for “doing the right thing and for his courage,” noting that he handed over the video with “full knowledge it could cause him personal harm.”

She goes on to call out Lawrence Bender, E. Bennett Walsh, and “the notorious Harvey Weinstein,” who “lied, destroyed evidence and continue to lie about the permanent harm they caused and then chose to suppress.” Thurman also name-checks her former agency, CAA, which, she says, did not send any representatives to check on her after the incident on set in Mexico.

The confusion is somewhat understandable; although almost everyone can agree that Thurman’s allegations against Weinstein and the revelations about her on-set accident are horrible, just as many criticized Maureen Dowd’s writing style — much of which was littered with unnecessary descriptions of Thurman’s heritage and lifestyle and repeated comparisons between Thurman’s experiences and the plot of Kill Bill. Dowd’s writing seems to have gotten in the way of her subject, resulting in what Thurman appears to believe is misplaced blame.

To be fair, it was Tarantino’s set, and Thurman’s revelation that the director spit and choked her for scenes in which other characters were meant to be doing those things didn’t exactly make him look like the most considerate, responsible filmmaker. She also says that she made it very clear that she felt unsafe driving the vehicle, which malfunctioned and hit a tree, and requested a stunt driver.