According to numerous news outlets, from E Online to Rolling Stone and the Hollywood Reporter, Tarantino “used the N-word” backstage at the Golden Globes, where he won best screenplay (full list here). That’s what their headlines say, “TARANTINO USED THE N-WORD BACKSTAGE!”, while the stories provide little else. Because that’s what we do now. We ignore context so we can have a juicy headline to shout while we soak up sweet, sweet clicks.

Less than a minute into his press conference backstage at the 70th Annual Golden Globes, the Django Unchained winner dropped the N-word. The usually bustling press room fell silent for a second; a reporter could be heard letting out a whistle, as in, “Oh, boy.”
The filmmaker’s choice language came as he fieldied a question about his controversial, slavery-era spaghetti Western. Tarantino was not apologizing.
Critics who think the N-word should not have been spoken by his 19th century characters, the mile-a-minute Tarantino argued, are “saying I should massage. They’re saying I should whitewash. They’re saying I should lie.”
Don Cheadle, a winner for House of Lies, who took the stage right after Tarantino, couldn’t resist picking up the thread.
“Please no [N-word] questions,” Cheadle told reporters. “Black people questions are all right.”
For the record, Cheadle said he hadn’t seen Django, but was looking forward to checking it out. [EOnline]

Quentin Tarantino shocked reporters at the Golden Globes last night when he used the N-word while addressing use of the slur throughout his new film Django Unchained, for which he picked up the award for Best Screenplay, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“They think I should soften it, that I should lie, that I should massage,” Tarantino said, referring to widespread criticism from critics and filmmakers like Spike Lee that has been leveled against him for using the word in his film. But the director said that setting the film in the pre-Civl War era South, as well as his own artistic integrity, kept him from doctoring his script. “I could never do that when it comes to my characters,” he said.
Tarantino also noted that slavery continues to exist across the globe (“go to Malaysia,” he said), and criticized the United States for a legal system that he believes has a bias against African-Americans. “Drug laws put so many black males in jails,” he said. “The way private and public prisons trade prisoners back and forth. It’s like they are not even hiding it anymore.” [RollingStone]

The Hollywood Reporter and a bunch of others are running virtually the same story. So… what actually happened? Quentin Tarantino said “n**ger” instead of “the n-word?” And then everybody ran and tattled on him that he used a naughty word without saying how or why? “Quentin said a naughty word and everyone was like ‘ooooh,’ it was so crazy Jenny almost dropped her trapper keeper!!”

F*ck all of you with this stupid story. (For the record, I use those stupid asterices in my swear words because your dumb work filters will block my site if I use to many naughty naughties). Not that Louis CK needs his ass kissed any more by people like me, but his N-word bit has scarcely been more relevant than now:

Everybody has different words that offend them, different things that they hear that they get offended by… To me, the thing that offends me the most, is every time that I hear “the N-word.” Not “n*gger” by the way. I mean “the N-word.” Literally, whenever a white lady on CNN with nice hair says, “The N-word,” that’s just white people getting away with saying “n*gger,” that’s all that is. They found a way to say “n*gger.” “N-word!” It’s bullshit ’cause when you say “the N-word” you put the word “n*gger” in the listeners head. That’s what saying a word is. You say “the N-word” and I go “Oh, she means ‘n*gger’.” Your making me say it in my head! Why don’t you f**kin’ say it instead and take responsibility, with the sh**ty words you wanna say. Just say it, don’t hide behind the first letter like a fagg*t just say it. Say “n*gger” you stupid c*nt!

[banner image via Zimbio]