It should come as no surprise that Quentin Tarantino's latest film — which we'll remind you is a slavery-era tale told in Spaghetti Western style — has stirred up some controversy. What is slightly shocking, however, is that much of the controversy is coming from media coverage of "Django Unchained" as opposed to the movie itself.

Last week the Drudge Report posted a splash image of Tarantino across the top of its front pages with the N-word written below it seven times. The censored words linked to the Hollywood Reporter's review of "Django Unchained," without any further context.

The stunt seemingly stems from the use of the controversial word in the film, which does not shy away from showing the horrors of slavery. So when MTV News caught up with Tarantino, we asked about similar reactions to his work and whether they had upset him.

"Well, it's just ridiculous," the director said, referring to the provocative headline. "I can't really take it seriously. Again, consider the source, the Drudge Report. They're going to say anything that's going to offend me, bother me. They are who they are."

When approaching the sensitive topic of slavery and invoking such a racially charged word as often as he does, Tarantino had one major factor on his side of the argument: history. "I think it's kind of ridiculous, because no one can actually say with a straight face that we use the word more than it was used in 1858 in Mississippi. So since they can't say that, what they're basically [saying] is I should lie," he argued. "I should pretty it up. I should lie, and I don't lie when it comes to my characters and the stories I tell."

"Django Unchained" stars Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson. It opens everywhere on Christmas Day.

Check out everything we've got on "Django Unchained."