Tarantino defends police remarks: 'I was under the impression...I had First Amendment rights'

"I'm a human being with a conscience," said director Quentin Tarantino while attending a New York City rally against police brutality on October 24. "And if you believe there's murder going on then you need to rise up and stand up against it. I'm here to say I'm on the side of the murdered."

Tarantino's comments immediately drew controversy, with the National Association of Police Organizations issuing a statement calling for a boycott of Tarantino's films and suggesting he believes all police officers are murderers.

But Tarantino is not backing down. "I was under the impression I was an American and that I had First Amendment rights, and there was no problem with me going to an anti-police-brutality protest and speaking my mind," the director said on MSNBC Wednesday. "Just because I was at an anti-police-brutality protest doesn't mean I'm anti-police." Tarantino also argued that police attacks on his remarks were a way to skirt the larger issue "with the fact that the citizenry has lost trust in them."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up