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Kate Winslet regrets not calling out 'bullying' journalists. Young women, please take note.

"If I could turn back the clock, I would have used my voice in a completely different way."

Photo credits: Maggie (Maggiejumps) (left) GabboT (right)

Kate Winslet reflects on how her younger self interacted with the media.

When you're a celebrity in the spotlight, especially if you're a woman, your looks are constantly placed under a microscope. Every wrinkle on your face, every pound you gain or lose, every time the paparazzi catches up to you on a bad hair day, it's all fodder for a hungry entertainment media machine that thrives on scrutinizing beauty.

Kate Winslet should know. As an actress who made a name for herself in Hollywood as a young woman, her body size and shape was often a topic of conversation. Winslet was 22 years old when she played the role of Rose in "Titanic," and she has said that the fame that followed that film was "horrible," largely because of the media attention and the pressure to look a certain way.

“Apparently I was too fat,” Winslet said in an interview on the "Happy Sad Confused" Podcast in 2022. “Why were they so mean to me? They were so mean. I wasn’t even f--ing fat." Some media commentators were unabashed in their fat shaming, and commentary about her body went on for years.

Winslet expressed regret that she didn't push back more against "bullying" and "borderline abusive" journalists back in the day, and it's a good reminder for younger women today to use their voices to speak up when this kind of thing happens.

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"If I could turn back the clock I would have used my voice in a completely different way," Winslet said. "I would have responded to journalists: 'Don't you dare treat me like this. I'm a young woman. My body's 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."

She said it's "getting better" but there's still a long ways to go. "Even if an actress walks out on a red carpet and happens to look amazing in whatever she's wearing, the fact that people will say, 'Looks honed and toned' or, dreadful word, 'svelte.' Don't even say it! It's such an irresponsible thing to do, and it feeds directly into young women aspiring to ideas of perfection that don't exist, aspiring to have bodies that the press are saying that we have."

kate winslet win GIF by BAFTAGiphy

Then she laid down the raw, real truth about those fancy red carpet events: "It's for one night and one night only that we're in that damn dress. And believe you me, mine comes straight off the second I'm in the car on the way home, and I'm in my pajamas, eating chips and farting. That's what we do!"

It's not always easy to know what to do or say in the moment when you are being mistreated, but hearing Winslet say what she wished she had said is a lesson for younger women everywhere. At the time, she may have felt helpless, but she wasn't. She had a voice and laments not using it.

Winslet also spoke to 60 minutes in 2024 and recalled the comments made about her on the red carpet during "Titanic" awards season, when journalists said she looked "a little melted and poured into that dress" and that she needed to have gotten one "two sizes larger."

“It’s absolutely appalling,” Winslet said. “What kind of a person must they be to do something like that to a young actress who’s just trying to figure it out?”

She said she did confront someone in the press face-to-face once, saying, "I hope this haunts you." Tearing up remembering that time, Winslet said, "It was a great moment. It was a great moment because it wasn't just for me. It was for all those people who were subjected to that level of harassment. It was horrific. It twas really bad."

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Kudos to Kate Winslet for once again being a real one, reminding us that beauty is something far more than the way someone looks and that bullying or harassment of anyone, even people in the public eye, is never okay.

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Kate Winslet says women become more 'powerful' and 'sexy' in their 40s. She's spot on.

'Let's go girls, let's just be in our power. Why not? Life's too flipping short.'

Photo by Andrea Raffin/C.C.

Kate Winslet describes the power of women in their 40s.

A weird thing happens to many women in their 40s, something I had heard rumblings of before I arrived at them but didn't fully understand until I was in them. Somehow, somewhat suddenly, you just get better.

I mean, there are definitely some complaints about aching bones and perimenopause to be lodged at this age, but there's an internal shift that happens where you sort of come into your own self. You know who you are and you feel comfortable in your skin.

Kate Winslet described it perfectly in a recent interview with BBC Radio 4's 'Woman's Hour.'

“I'm 47, there are bits that don't do what you want them to do anymore. There's something kind of fab about going: ‘Oh well, that's just the way it is, isn't it?’"

Yes. It is totally fab. My body has changed in ways that feel far too "old" for the age I feel inside, and there are some days when I look at my suddenly crepey arm skin and go "Whoa!" But generally, there's a kind of acquiescence to change that goes along with this age. Even if we take good care of ourselves and even if we use all the creams and serums in the world, our bodies are still going to change in ways we can't control. Fighting change is fruitless.

Winslet continued:

“But I think women come into their 40s, certainly mid-40s, thinking: ‘Oh well, this is the beginning of the decline and things start to change and fade and slide in directions that I don't want them to go in anymore.’ And I've just decided no.

“We become more woman, more powerful, more sexy. We grow into ourselves more, we have the opportunity to speak and speak our mind and not be afraid of what people think of us, not care what we look like quite so much. I think it's amazing. Let's go girls, let's just be in our power. Why not? Life's too flipping short.”

So much yes to all of that. I remember being younger and sort of fearing my 40s, feeling like it all must be downhill from there. But it's not. Not even close.

I'm exactly the same age as Winslet, and I've felt that power she describes.

One thing that happens is you start to simply and calmly not care what people think. It's not the purposeful, semi-rebellious version of not-caring-what-people-think that some are able to achieve when they're younger; it's a genuinely effortless confidence that just sort of arrives one day unannounced. There's a freedom in the effortlessness of it that is impossible to know until you experience it, but it's utterly delicious.

"Life's too flipping short" sort of sums it up. It's a saying we pay lip service to when we're younger, or which we use to justify all manner of YOLO risk-taking, but at this age it's more about not wasting our precious time or energy or life force on things that really don't matter.

This is not to say that women in our 40s have figured out the keys to everything or never experience self-doubt. Definitely not. But this decade is definitively powerful. It feels nothing like it looked like it would feel from the outside. I've never felt more comfortable in my own skin. I've never felt less pulled by trends. I've never felt better in my body (and yes, never sexier). I've had friends who are a little older than I am tell me about this phenomenon, and now that I've experienced it myself, I want to share it with women who might be fearing their 40s.

Never fear—the 40s are fabulous. Kate Winslet is right. We do become more ourselves, and it is amazing. And from what I've heard from women in their 50s, it keeps getting better, at least for a good while longer.

"Let's just be in our power," she says. Yes, let's. It's the absolute best place to be.

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Viola Davis on the moment she realized she didn't have to lose weight for a role.

"You come into my world and you sit with me, my size, my hue, my age, and you ... you sit, and you experience."

Viola Davis delivered a show-stopping speech when she received the first- ever #SeeHer Award at the Critics' Choice Awards.

The award was created by the #SeeHer campaign, which strives to eliminate bias against women in the media.

Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images.

As the first black actress to ever win an Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama, Davis is no stranger to bias. However, that's not quite what she chose to focus on Sunday evening.

She spoke of another major limiting factor that most women in the entertainment industry (and around the world) grapple with every day: body image and body-shaming.  

GIF via A&E/YouTube.

Many actresses find themselves typecast based on their size or asked to lose weight for roles, and Davis' experience has been no different. This mentality of always needing to be thinner is one that has, unfortunately, become ingrained in society at large.

When Davis got the part of Annalise Keating on "How to Get Away With Murder," a role she said was somewhat outside her "type," her knee-jerk reaction was "I need to lose weight." She didn't feel like she was glamorous enough, pretty enough, or thin enough be the lead of a TV series.

Then, in a triumphant moment of her speech, she said she realized just how wrong she was:

GIF via A&E/YouTube.

It's not surprising, considering the pressure of taking on the starring role of a drama series. But the fact that her first thought was about losing weight shows just how much things still need to change. Thankfully, Davis, in all her powerhouse glory, is leading the way.

Her speech articulated the importance of embracing yourself, no matter your size, shape, age, or color.

It was humble, inspiring, and exactly what women everywhere need to hear.

GIF via A&E/YouTube.

Here it is in its entirety (emphasis added):

“Thank you. It’s hard to accept being a role model for women when you’re trying to lose weight. But, it’s true. I’ve always discovered the heart of my characters, I guess, by asking, ‘Why?’

You know, when I was handed Annalise Keating, I said, ‘She’s sexy, she’s mysterious, you know?’ I’m used to playing women who gotta gain 40 pounds and have to wear an apron. So I said, ‘Oh God, I gotta to lose weight, I gotta learn how to walk like Kerry Washington in heels, you know, I gotta lose my belly.’ And then I asked myself, ‘Well, why do I have to do all that?’

I truly believe that the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are, and I just recently embraced that at 51. I think my strongest power is that at 10 o’clock every Thursday night, I want you to come into my world. I am not going to come into yours. You come into my world and you sit with me, my size, my hue, my age, and you ... you sit, and you experience. And I think that’s the only power I have as an artist, so I thank you for this award. And I do see her, just like I see me.”



Davis is definitely not the only celebrity standing up for body positivity in the face of professional scrutiny.

Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images.

In August, Alicia Keys showed up to the MTV Video Music Awards wearing no makeup, something she has committed to doing regularly to show the world she's done with judgment and confirming beauty standards.

Kate Winslet, another award-winning actress, still struggles with body image issues but repeats this mantra to herself and daughter regularly: "We are so lucky we have a shape. We’re so lucky we’re curvy. We’re so lucky that we’ve got good bums."

Pop star Adele, actress Melissa McCarthy, and model Ashley Graham were voted most influential body-positive celebrities of 2016 by clothing company Gwynnie Bee for their consistent, no-nonsense body-positive advocacy.

Women are making major strides to fight fat-shaming in Hollywood, but the battle's far from over.

With stunning female forces like Davis constantly pushing for change, things are looking up. There's a major spotlight on the issue, which will make it much harder for future scrutiny to go unobserved. While Davis admits to occasionally feeling like she has to lose weight (body issues are complicated, and often ongoing even when you recognize the social pressures behind them), she's not letting those insecurities rule her life or limit what she believes she can do.

So the next time you find yourself feeling like you have to change to fit someone else's expectations — even if they're your own — take a note from Davis, and honestly ask yourself: "Why?"

Watch Davis' whole acceptance speech here:

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The problem with Kate Winslet's story about not settling for 'fat girl parts.'

Kate Winslet was told she 'might do OK if [she] was happy to settle for the fat girl parts.'

Kate Winslet took home a prestigious award, but it's what she said after that's making news.

Over the weekend, Winslet took home the award for best supporting actress at the BAFTAs for her role in "Steve Jobs." During the backstage press conference, she shared a personal story about growing up and being told the "might do OK if [she] was happy to settle for the fat girl parts."

Why should she have to "settle" for anything? And why is "fat girl parts" meant to be an insult?

"Fat" is not an insult. "Fat" should not be an insult. "Fat" should be an adjective. It has nothing to do with your moral character or who you are or what you’re capable of. "Fat" is not an insult.

GIFs from HeyUGuys/YouTube.

And so she dedicated the award to women who've been put down by others for whatever reason, urging them to push on through criticism to achieve their goals.

Super inspiring, right?

Please clap. GIF from "Citizen Kane."

But wait, what's wrong with "fat girl parts"?

That drama teacher who put down Winslet when she was 14 wasn't just insulting her, but all women — fat and otherwise.

And wouldn't it be cool if instead of stigmatizing women who don't fit conventional beauty standards, we celebrated them just as they are? Wouldn't it be cool if more people in the movies resembled the types of people we see in everyday life?

Here are seven actresses who have embraced body positivity, brushing off the idea that "fat girl parts" are something to be ashamed of.

1. Gabourey Sidibe

2. Melissa McCarthy

3. Amber Riley

4. Rebel Wilson

5. Lena Dunham

6. Nikki Blonsky

7. Kate Winslet — a familiar face!

Watch Winslet bask in the BAFTA win afterglow. (Her "fat girl parts" comments start around six minutes in!)

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