Kate Winslet hits back at ‘borderline abusive’ Titanic fans

Kate Winslet has blasted the “borderline abusive” bodyshaming she has suffered from obsessive fans of blockbuster movie Titanic. 

The 47-year-old actress became a household name after starring as lovelorn Rose DeWitt Bukater alongside Leonardo DiCaprio as impoverished artist Jack Dawson in director James Cameron’s 1997 rendering of the early twentieth century disaster. 

Winslet has since hit out against cruel trolls who claimed her weight was the reason DiCaprio’s character couldn’t get on the floating door with Rose to ensure they both survived the catastrophe, which claimed the lives of more than 1,500 passengers after the boat struck an iceberg. 

Jack was instead forced to grimly accept his inevitable death in below freezing waters while his lover reamined safely afloat. 

Addressing the pivotal scene during the latest edition of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Winslet said: Apparently I was too fat. Why were they so mean to me? They were so mean. I wasn’t even f****** fat.’ 

Winslet also reflected on how she wishes she’d have addressed the vile comments at the time.

She added: ‘I would have responded, I would have said, “Don’t you dare treat me like this. I’m a young woman, my body is changing, I’m figuring it out, I’m deeply insecure, I’m terrified, don’t make this any harder than it already is. 

“That’s bullying, you know, and actually borderline abusive,” I would say.’

Criticism: Winslet was savaged by cruel trolls who claimed her weight was the reason DiCaprio’s character couldn’t get on the floating door with Rose to ensure they both survived

Iconic: The 47-year-old actress became a household name after starring as lovelorn Rose DeWitt Bukater alongside Leonardo DiCaprio as impoverished artist Jack Dawson in the film 

The Oscar winning actress has spoken about body shaming before, and she recently recalled being told to settle for “fat girl” roles as a young performer at acting school, while her agent would later ask about her “weight”.

She said: ‘It can be extremely negative. People are subject to scrutiny that is more than a young, vulnerable person can cope with. But in the film industry it is really changing.

‘When I was younger my agent would get calls saying, “How’s her weight?” I kid you not. So it’s heartwarming that this has started to change.’ 

Opening up: The Oscar winning actress has spoken about body shaming before, and she recently recalled being told to settle for “fat girl” roles as a young performer at acting school

Winslet said she hopes times have changed because she has very different priorities now.

She added: ‘As a middle-aged woman, I care about being that actor who moves their face and has a body that jiggles.’ 

The Avatar: The Way of Water star also opened up about how social media has changed life for anyone in the public eye – insisting the internet puts unnecessary pressure on young actors as they are unable to move on from their mistakes.

She explained: ‘It was hard enough [for me] having the flipping [defunct UK tabloid] News of the World on my doorstep, but that doesn’t even cut it now.

‘That phrase about ‘today’s news being tomorrow’s fish and chip paper’ doesn’t exist. The thing you did when you were drunk or foolish? It may come back to haunt you. 

‘Needing to be on one’s guard for young actors is just a different thing. It must be extraordinarily hard.’