Uma Thurman has shared the video footage of her car crash on the set of Kill Bill to Instagram, calling an alleged cover-up of the incident by the film’s producers – including Harvey Weinstein – an “unforgivable” act.
The footage shows Thurman driving the convertible down a sandy, palm-lined stretch of road. She can be seen wrestling with the wheel before the vehicle jolts into a tree. Thurman’s body flies forward and slumps sideways, before crew members come to her assistance.
Thurman detailed the traumatic incident in an interview with the New York Times published over the weekend, which also included the full crash footage.
The 47-year-old said a crew member led her to believe the car might not be in a totally safe operating condition, and that when she brought her concerns to director Quentin Tarantino, she was pressured into continuing with the shoot.
“He was furious because I’d cost them a lot of time. But I was scared. He said: ‘I promise you the car is fine. It’s a straight piece of road,’” Thurman recalled.
The actor was hospitalised after the incident “with my knees damaged and a large massive egg on my head and a concussion.” Thurman said she accused Tarantino of trying to kill her, and that they fought over the incident for years.
She also recalled sending a letter to Weinstein’s production company Miramax a fortnight after the crash, asking for the footage and reserving the right to sue. Miramax allegedly said Thurman could have the footage if she released them from “any consequences of my future pain and suffering.” She refused.
Angered by the lack of legal repercussions against Weinstein some 15 years later, Thurman said she gave law enforcement her run-down of events and further sought the footage from Tarantino. The director relented.
In her most recent Instagram post, Thurman said a “deeply regretful” and “remorseful” Tarantino relinquished the footage in full knowledge “it could cause him personal harm.”
Thurman also expressed her anger at producers Weinstein, Lawrence Bender, and E. Bennett Walsh, who allegedly “lied, destroyed evidence, and continue to lie about the permanent harm they caused and then chose to suppress.
“The cover up did have malicious intent, and shame on these three for all eternity.”
You can watch the footage below:
