Quentin Tarantino Says He’ll Never Give His Mom Money After She Insulted His Writing

When Quentin Tarantino decides to hold a grudge, he’s going to stick to it. He’s still got one against his own mother, after she insulted his writing as a child — and as a result, she’s never gotten a piece of her son’s financial success.

During an appearance on “Billions” co-creator Brian Koppelman’s podcast “The Moment” late last month, Tarantino revealed that, as a kid, he would often get in trouble for writing screenplays instead of doing his schoolwork. There’s one particular scolding from his mother that he remembers vividly.

“In the middle of her little tirade, she said, ‘Oh, and by the way, this little ‘writing career’ — with the finger quotes and everything — this little ‘writing career’ that you’re doing? That s— is f—ing over,” Tarantino said. And with those words, he made a decision that he’s stuck to his entire life.

“When she said that to me in that sarcastic way, I was in my head and I go: ‘OK, lady, when I become a successful writer, you will never see penny one from my success,’” Tarantino said. “‘There will be no house for you. There’s no vacation for you, no Elvis Cadillac for mommy. You get nothing. Because you said that.’”

Tarantino admitted that he has helped his mother financially, but only when she was in “a jam with the IRS.” Other than that, the director has stuck to his guns and kept his money to himself. When Koppelman then suggested Tarantino buy his mother a house — saying that she, in essence, “drove” Tarantino to success because he kept her words in his mind — Tarantino doubled down.

“There are consequences for your words as you deal with your children,” he said. “Remember there are consequences for your sarcastic tone about what’s meaningful to them.”

It’s no secret that Tarantino has had a rocky relationship with his parents. In June, the “Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood” director admitted on Marc Maron’s podcast “WTF” that if he were to do his career all over again, he wouldn’t have used his father’s surname.

“If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t use the name Tarantino,” he said. “If I had it to do all over again, I would use my middle name as my last name. I would be Quentin Jerome.”