By Diana Rodriguez

“…Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! (Except you Harvey, and all your wicked conspirators — I’m glad it’s going slowly – you don’t deserve a bullet) -stay tuned…,” American actress and model Uma Thurman posted this cryptic message on her Instagram during the holidays, but said she would take her time before sharing her story for the sake of being “fair and exact.” 

The New York Times interviewed her when her anger had cooled down.

“I used the word ‘anger’ but I was more worried about crying, to tell you the truth.. so what you really saw was a person buying time,” said Thurman, known for cult classics Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill.

Her own #MeToo story was revealed. Weinstein enacted sexual misconduct after working on his 1994 film Pulp Fiction, while meeting with her in his Paris hotel room. She did not feel threatened by him in his bathrobe thinking he was just being a “kooky, eccentric uncle,” until he led her into a steam room, where she grew flustered and left.

He first “attacked” her not long after in London, when he pressured Thurman to submit but did not “put his back into it [to] force [her].”

Soon after, they threatened to end each other’s careers and reputations, but Thurman gave in out of fear and continued to work on their Miramax projects. She thought of him as an enemy from then on, and barely tolerated him.
Later in 2001, Thurman went to the Cannes Film Festival, where film director Quentin Tarantino noticed she was skittish around Weinstein, which worried him since they would all soon be working together on Kill Bill. Thurman said she had already told Tarantino about their incidents, which he was passive about at first, but decided to confront Weinstein, who was surprised by her accusations.

Tarantino knew from the start that Thurman was telling him the truth.

“I don’t believe you. I believe her. And if you want to do Kill Bill, you need to make this right,” Tarantino told Weinstein. Weinstein then gave her a “half-assed apology”, but formally apologized to Thurman almost 16 years later.
Thurman also spoke about an on-set video of Kill Bill she finally got her hands on after 15 years, which showed the results of a car stunt Tarantino pressured her into performing, almost killing her and causing permanent neck and knee injuries. At the time of the incident, Miramax would only give her the clip if she released them of any consequences of “future pain and suffering,” but she did not agree.

Weinstein and producer Lawrence Bender denied attempting to cover up the unprofessional stunt. A representative said that no instructions were given to destroy the car or cover up the incident, and the producer only recently learned “that Ms. Thurman had any issues regarding the handling of her accident.”

The actress was later “dehumanized to the point of death” after turning from a contributor to a “broken tool” as Tarantino spit on her face for a scene, and choked her with a chain for another.

These actions did not impact her as negatively as Weinstein’s behavior did, but she emphasized that the car stunt was what ultimately broke her. Tarantino said that this was the “biggest regret of [his] life,” but only saw the scene as a driving scene, and not an orchestrated stunt.
Thurman’s own regret is that she did not speak up sooner.

“I am one of the reasons that a young girl would walk into his room alone, the way I did.” Though she has not forgiven Weinstein–and it does not seem that she will–she forgives Tarantino, especially because he gave her the video knowing she would speak about it, and damage his reputation.

In spite of Weinstein’s long list of accusations regarding similar behavior, his attorney says that he may take legal action against Uma Thurman. His team will update as the process continues.