Quentin Tarantino Strangled Diane Kruger in ‘Inglorious Basterds’ but Working with Him ‘Was Pure Joy’

Diane Kruger has come to the defense of Quentin Tarantino, saying that even though he strangled her in Inglorious Basterds it “was pure joy” working with him.

Tarantino has been at the center of controversy lately after allegations surfaced claiming that he carelessly put Uma Thurman‘s life in danger on the set of Kill Bill.

Kruger’s name has surfaced in many of the ensuing news articles and she’s now speaking out about it on Instagram.

“In light of the recent allegations made by Uma Thurman against Harvey Weinstein and her terrifying work experience on Kill Bill, my name has been mentioned in numerous articles in regards to the choking scene in Inglourious Basterds,” Kruger’s message began.

“This is an important moment in time and my heart goes out to Uma and anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual assault and abuse. I stand with you,” she continued.

“For the record however, I would like to say that my work experience with Quentin Tarantino was pure joy. He treated me with utter respect and never abused his power or forced me to do anything I wasn’t comfortable with,” Kruger concluded.

Kruger’s comments come only days after Thurman spoke to journalists and alleged that Tarantino was upset about Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulting her, but that he later forced her into a car-stunt on the set of Kill Bill that she was told might not be safe.

The Inglourious Basterds “choking scene” that Kruger is referring to is one in which her character, Bridget von Hammersmark, was strangled to death by Christoph Waltz’s character, Col. Hans Landa. In reality, it was Tarantino’s hand that were used to actually shoot the scene.

Back in 2009, Digital Spy reported that Kruger spoke about the infamous scene in an interview, saying, “I get strangled, which was especially weird because you feel it when someone is choking you, so it was an interesting day at the office.”

“The funny part is that Quentin’s hands are in the close-up. Quentin said, ‘[Waltz is] not going to do it right, it’ll either be too much or too little. I know exactly what I need and I think I should just do it.’ I have to say it was very strange being strangled by the director,” she later added.

Tarantino has also previously spoken about shooting the scene, recounting the whole thing on a past episode of The Graham Norton Show.

“What I said to her was, I’m gonna just strangle you, alright? Full on, I’m gonna cut off your air, for just a little bit of time. We’re gonna see the reaction in your face and I’m gonna yell cut,” Tarantino explained, before adding, “And she trusted me.”