Samuel L. Jackson defends Quentin Tarantino over Django Unchained

SAMUEL L. JACKSON has stepped up to defend director QUENTIN TARANTINO over the racially-charged language in his acclaimed new movie DJANGO UNCHAINED.

The movie, which is nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, is set in slavery-era Mississippi in 1858 and has drawn heavy criticism as well as praise.

Many critics have accused Tarantino of over-using controversial language and racial slurs, and even fellow director Spike Lee branded the movie "disrespectful" and vowed to boycott it.

However, Jackson, who plays a head slave on a plantation in the film, is adamant Tarantino was staying true to history by using the 'n'-word.

He says, "Did they have another name to call the (black) people they were talking about at the time? If you're going to deal with the language of the time, you deal with the language of the time. And that was the language of the time. I grew up in the South. I heard 'n**ger' all my life. I'm not disturbed by it."

Jackson has worked with Lee on several projects, recently completing filming with him on a remake of 2003 South Korean film Oldboy, and he insists he hasn't talked to the director about the Django Unchained controversy.

He adds, "I can't talk to him about something he hasn't seen... I probably won't have a conversation with him about it, unless he brings it up. I won't bring it up - 'Hey, why didn't you see my movie?' I don't care if he sees it or not...

"I haven't had a conversation with Quentin about whether he likes Spike or doesn't like Spike. And I never had a conversation with Spike about whether he likes Quentin or doesn't like Quentin... I really don't know. I don't know if it's jealousy. Who would be jealous of whom?"