Jane Campion just won the spelling bee of shade.
The director of the Oscar-nominated film The Power of the Dog has responded to Sam Elliott's very public criticism of her Western.
"I'm sorry, he was being a little bit of a B-I-T-C-H," she said, spelling out the final word, as she spoke with Variety ahead of the 74th annual DGA Awards on Saturday, March 12. "I'm sorry to say it but he's not a cowboy, he's an actor."
She continued, "The West is a mythic space and there's a lot of room on the range."
Campion—who went on to win the marquee Theatrical Feature Film prize at the DGA Awards—also believes there is some sexism going on.
"I consider myself a creator and I think he sees me as a woman or something lesser first," she said, "and I don't appreciate that."
She echoed similar comments to Deadline saying his remarks "hit the trifecta of misogyny and xenophobia and homophobia."
Last month, in an interview on Marc Maron's WTF podcast, Elliott called The Power of the Dog a "piece of s—t."
"What the f--k does this woman from down there know about the American West?" Elliott exclaimed, "And why in the f--k did she shoot this movie in New Zealand and call it Montana? And say this is the way it was? That f--king rubbed me the wrong way, pal."
Elliott also made comments that many have deemed homophobic about the characters in the film.
"That's what all these fucking cowboys in that movie looked like," the 1883 actor said. "They're running around in chaps and no shirts. There's all these allusions of homosexuality throughout the movie. Where's the Western in this Western?"
E! News reached out to Elliott's reps for comment and didn't hear back.
Several of the film's cast members have since commented on Elliot's criticism. Benedict Cumberbatch said the harsh words were "very odd" while Jesse Plemons said it "made him laugh."
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the 33-year-old actor told the outlet that people can have their own opinions.
"I know there are different layers to that," he said in the March 12 interview. "Not everyone has to like it, I'll say that. That's fine."