Quentin Tarantino has accused Rosanna Arquette of demonstrating "a decided lack of class, no less honour" after the actress condemned his repeated deployment of racial slurs in his films.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker penned a pointed letter to Ms Arquette on Monday, questioning whether media attention justified her criticism of a production she had eagerly participated in.
"I hope the publicity you're getting from 132 different media outlets writing your name and printing your picture was worth disrespecting me and a film I remember quite clearly you were thrilled to be a part of?" Mr Tarantino wrote.
The director suggested her motivations were "very cynical" and insisted that "there is supposed to be an esprit de corps between artistic colleagues."
Quentin Tarantino has directed several films that feature the slur | PAHe signed off with a sarcastic: "Congratulations, Q."
Mr Arquette's remarks came during an interview with The Sunday Times, published on Saturday, in which she reflected on her role as Jody in the 1994 black comedy.
While acknowledging the film as "iconic, a great film on a lot of levels," she pulled no punches in her assessment of Mr Tarantino's language choices.
"Personally I am over the use of the N-word — I hate it," she told the newspaper. "I cannot stand that he has been given a hall pass. It's not art, it's just racist and creepy."
Quentin Tarantino and Rosanna Arquette worked together on Pulp Fiction | GETTYThe dispute has reignited a longstanding controversy surrounding Mr Tarantino's screenwriting choices.
The racial slur appears roughly 20 times throughout Pulp Fiction, which claimed the Academy Award for best original screenplay.
His subsequent work has drawn even sharper scrutiny, with Jackie Brown featuring the word more than 30 times and Django Unchained containing in excess of 100 instances.
The 2012 western, which depicts slavery in the 19th-century American South, has become a particular flashpoint for critics who question whether such frequent usage serves any artistic purpose.
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Quentin Tarantino has been branded 'racist and creepy' for the use of the N-word in his films | GETTYMr Tarantino addressed the backlash in 2022, telling CNN that viewers who objected to his creative decisions should simply "see something else."
"Apparently, I'm not making them for you," he stated.
The debate over Mr Tarantino's dialogue has divided Hollywood for decades.
Spike Lee emerged as an early critic, telling Vibe magazine in 1997: "I'm not against the word, and I use it, but not excessively. And some people speak that way. But Quentin is infatuated with that word. What does he want to be made, an honorary Black man?"
Rosanna Arquette pictured in 2009 | PAMore recently, filmmaker Lee Daniels challenged Mr Tarantino's dismissive response to objectors, saying: "That's not the right answer."
Yet the director has found staunch defenders among his regular collaborators, including Samuel L Jackson and Jamie Foxx, who starred in Django Unchained.
Mr Jackson, who has appeared in nearly every Tarantino feature, defended the filmmaker in the 2019 documentary QT8: The First Eight, questioning why other directors received different treatment for similar content.