Quentin Tarantino is facing heat on multiple fronts for the comments he made over the weekend at a protest against police brutality.
“Shame on him, particularly at this time we are grieving for a New York City police officer,” NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said Monday during an interview on “The John Gambling Show” on AM 970.
Bratton, who previously served as L.A.’s top cop, was referring to Tarantino’s comments Saturday at a rally in downtown Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, in which he said: “I have to call a murder a murder, and I have to call the murderers the murderers.”
The protest came four days after NYPD Officer Randolph Holder was fatally shot in the head while chasing a gunman in East Harlem. When asked about the timing of the rally, Tarantino called it “unfortunate.”
“It’s like this: It’s unfortunate timing, but we’ve flown in all these families to go and tell their stories,” Tarantino said. “That cop that was killed, that’s a tragedy, too.”
Bratton was not impressed with the “Django Unchained” director’s explanation.
“There are no words to describe the contempt I have for him and his comments at this particular time,” Bratton said.
Tarantino’s comments also drew fire from New York City’s police union, which on Sunday called for a boycott of his movies.
“The police officers that
“New Yorkers need to send a message to this purveyor of degeneracy that he has no business coming to our city to peddle his slanderous ‘Cop Fiction.’ It’s time for a boycott of
Several hundred people attended the protest in which Tarantino delivered his remarks. Billed as #RiseUpOctober, the gathering was organized by author, activist and scholar Cornel West.
Tarantino has a movie coming out in December called “The Hateful Eight,” which will be released by The Weinstein Company
Representatives for Tarantino and TWC have not yet responded to TheWrap’s requests for comment.
Listen to the audio of Bratton’s interview below: