Kate Winslet breaks down in emotional new interview: ‘I let them have it’

Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has broken down in tears as she recalled a horrifying moment in her Hollywood career.

Kate Winslet got emotional while recalling what it was being “ridiculed” for her weight — and having to call out fat-shamers — when she was younger.

During an interview for US program 60 Minutes that aired on Sunday, the Titanic actress was asked about the extreme criticism she faced for her appearance growing up, including one interviewer saying it looked like she was “melted and poured” into a red carpet gown.

“It was absolutely appalling,” Winslet recalled, as per Page Six. “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?”

Kate Winslet broke down in an emotional new interview. Picture: 60 Minutes

She recalled some of the horrifying behaviour she’d endured in Hollywood. Picture: 60 Minutes

The interviewer asked if she ever got “face-to-face” with any of the critics, to which Winslet confirmed that she had.

“I let them have it,” Winslet, 49, said while her voice got quiet. “I said, ‘I hope this haunts you.’ 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 was really bad.”

The actress at the Oscars in 1998. Picture: AFP PHOTO/Vince Bucci

The Mare of Easttown actress got emotional later on in the sit-down when the interviewer asked Winslet about a drama teacher once telling her that she’d have to “settle for the fat girl parts.”

Winslet recalled the unnamed teacher telling her, “‘Now, listen, Kate. I’m telling you darling, if you’re going to look like this, you’ll have to settle for the fat girl parts.’”

“I was never even fat!” Winslet added while laughing.

Arriving at the 1998 Golden Globe awards.

The comments ultimately led Winslet to becoming more motivated, and she recalled gaining a “quiet determination” from the criticism.

“It made me think, ‘I’ll just show you –– just quietly,’” she said.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Winslet in Titanic in 1998.

Winslet further addressed the beauty standards in Hollywood and called people out for praising her and other women for not wearing makeup and showing their age with different roles.

“People say, ‘Oh, you were so brave for this role. You didn’t wear any makeup.’ You know, ‘You had wrinkles.’ Do we say to the men, ‘Oh, you were so brave for this role. You grew a beard?’ No. We don’t,” she told the outlet.

However, Winslet admitted that she no longer cares about the criticism, because it’s too “exhausting.”

The Holiday actress has previously spoken out about her body-shaming and even revealed that a crew member recently encouraged her to “sit up straighter” to cover up her belly rolls during a swimsuit scene in her 2023 film, Lee.

In 2016, Winslet admitted that she was “bullied” when she was younger for “being chubby” and later shared that she was tormented under the nickname “Blubber” by her classmates.

This article originally appeared in Page Six and was reproduced with permission.