Kill Bill producer Lawrence Bender has issued a statement regarding the on-set accident detailed in a recent New York Times profile on star Uma Thurman.
Bender said Wednesday that he deeply regretted the physical and emotional pain Thurman has endured since the car crash. However, he denied any involvement with a cover-up. "I never hid anything from Uma or anyone else nor did I participate in any cover-up of any kind—and I never would," Bender told the Hollywood Reporter.
Bender also claimed that he wasn't informed of Thurman's "feelings in regard to this incident" until a few months ago. "I wanted to make sure she had all of the answers she had been seeking," he said.
In an Instagram post featuring footage of the crash earlier this week, Thurman mentioned Bender by name. "THE COVER-UP after the fact is UNFORGIVABLE," she said. "For this I hold Lawrence Bender, E. Bennett Walsh, and the notorious Harvey Weinstein solely responsible. They 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."
The Kill Bill crash affected Tarantino and Thurman's relationship for years. As Tarantino later described, "a trust was broken" between them. "I wanted her to do as much as possible and we were trying to take care of her and we pulled it off," Tarantino recounted to Deadline. "She didn't get hurt. And then the last four days, in what we thought would be a simple driving shot, almost kills her."
Wednesday, Thurman—who detailed multiple alleged attacks by Weinstein to the Times—showed support for Rose McGowan's new memoir Brave.
