Kate Winslet, holding back tears, opened up about the pain of being bоdy shamed during her rise to fame with Titanic, saying, “I hope this stays with you.”
Kate Winslet vividly recalls the pain of being body shamed early in her career.
During a 60 Minutes interview aired on Sunday, Dec. 1, the Oscar-winning actress, now 49, reflected on her journey in Hollywood and became emotional while revisiting her breakout days.
The conversation turned to her role in Titanic when she was shown a 1998 clip from the Golden Globes red carpet. In the footage, an on-air host from E! News commented that Winslet looked “a little melted and poured into” her dress, adding that she “needed two sizes larger and she’d be okay.”
“That’s absolutely appalling,” Winslet responded. “What kind of person says something like that about a young actress just trying to find her way?”
When asked if she ever addressed such cruel remarks, the Reader star, who won her Best Actress Oscar in 2009, revealed she had confronted some of her critics directly.
“I let them have it,” she said. “I told them, ‘I hope this haunts you.’”
“It was an incredible moment,” the Lee star shared through tears during her 60 Minutes interview. “It wasn’t just about me—it was for everyone who endured that kind of harassment. It was terrible. It was absolutely horrific.”
Winslet recently headlined Lee, a biopic about renowned photojournalist Lee Miller, who documented World War II for Vogue. In addition to starring in the film, Winslet took on the role of producer, approaching the project with what she described as a sense of «armor.»
Reflecting on reactions to her performance, Winslet challenged the double standards often faced by women in the industry.
“People say, ‘Oh, you were so brave for this role—no makeup, wrinkles.’ But do we say to men, ‘You were so brave—you grew a beard for the role?’” she asked.
“That’s not bravery,” she added. “That’s just doing the job.”
