Quentin Tarantino's 62nd Birthday: We Reveal Maverick Director's Biggest Scandals — From Harvey Weinstein Links to Parading His Foot Fetish on Screen and Near-Fatal Uma Thurman Car Crash
We revisited Quentin Tarantino's scandals on the director's 62nd birthday.
March 27 2025, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Quentin Tarantino has made a name for himself as one of the biggest directors in Hollywood, but his past has been riddled with scandal.
RadarOnline.com can reveal an inside look at the Pulp Fiction director's biggest offenses, including nearly killing actress Uma Thurman in a dangerous stunt and confessing he was aware of allegations against Harvey Weinstein years before the #MeToo movement rocked Hollywood.
Tarantino said allowing Thurman to perform her own stunt was 'one of the biggest regrets of my life.'
While reflecting on the filming of the 2003 film Kill Bill, one of his biggest hits, the director admitted allowing Thurman to drive a car for a stunt was "one of the biggest regrets of my life."
Taratino, 62, explained he drove the car in one direction to test it, but when it came time to film the scene with Thurman, he had her drive the car in another direction.
The direction recalled: "I was very happy, thinking, she can totally do this, it won't be a problem.
"I came in there all happy, telling her she could totally do it, it was a straight line, you will have no problem. Uma's response was 'OK.' Because she believed me. Because she trusted me... I told her it would be safe. And it wasn't. I was wrong."
Thurman suffered neck and knee injuries in the on-set car crash.
Unfortunately, Tarantino didn't realize there was a curve in the road, which caused the car to crash and Thurman suffered neck and knee injuries.
Afterward, the actress noted she had concerns about the car, but Tarantino ultimately convinced her to carry on with the scene.
Tarantino later admitted in an interview that he heard "Uma was trepidatious about doing the driving shot" but noted: "None of us ever considered it a stunt. It was just driving. Maybe we should have but we didn't."
He added: "Again, that is one of the biggest regrets of my life. As a director, you learn things and sometimes you learn them through horrendous mistakes.
"That was one of my most horrendous mistakes, that I didn't take the time to run the road, one more time, just to see what I would see."
Tarantino admitted he heard Thurman had concerns about the car prior to filming the scene.
The 62-year-old director has also been known for his questionable ties to Weinstein, co-founder of Miramax and The Weinstein Company, which produced several of Taratino's films.
After several actresses came forward with sexual assault and harassment accusations against Weinstein during the #MeToo movement, Taratino expressed shame and regret for how he handled the allegations before they were made public.
He said: "I knew enough to do more than I did. There was more to it than just the normal rumors, the normal gossip. It wasn’t secondhand. I knew he did a couple of these things.
"I wish I had taken responsibility for what I heard,” he added. “If I had done the work I should have done then, I would have had to not work with him."
Tarantino expressed regret over 'marginalizing' rumors about Harvey Weinstein.
In one instance, Tarantino's then-girlfriend Mira Sorvino told him about unwanted sexual advances from Weinstein, including inappropriate touching.
Another actress was also said to come to Tarantino with a similar story involving Weinstein years later – and the director was aware Rose McGowan reached a settlement with Weinstein.
Despite the alarming pattern, Tarantino said he "marginalize(d) the incidents" and considered them "bad behavior."
He added: "Anything I say now will sound like a crappy excuse."
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Tarantino's girlfriend Mira Sorvino told him about Weinstein making unwanted sexual advances towards her.
Tarantino himself has been accused of living out his personal fantasies with women in his movies, including his most recent hit, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.
Fans of the director noticed a pattern of "foot fetish" shots in several of his movies, including some where he cast himself in the scenes.
In Dusk Till Dawn, which he co-wrote with Robert Rodriguez, Salma Hayek's Santanico Pandemonium puts her foot in the mouth of Tarantino's character.
Many viewers have raised alarm over the feet-centered shots, noting most of the scenes are unnecessary for the plotline and are purely a creative choice, giving fans the creeps.
