‘It was absolutely appalling:’ Kate Winslet details years of body shaming as a woman in Hollywood

Despite being an Academy Award-winning actress, Kate Winslet has never been engulfed by the diva effect that usually comes with fame. It turns out her unique approach to navigating the entertainment industry is due to how she was treated after being cast as Rose opposite Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Jack Dawson in the 1997 blockbuster hit Titanic.

During an appearance on 60 Minutes, Winslet explained how the size and shape of her body became the focus of press coverage. “It was absolutely appalling,” she recalled after looking at an old clip of herself on the red carpet in which reporters can be heard commenting about the size of her dress. “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?”

Winslet was able to confront one of the reports who publicly body-shamed her in the name of entertainment. The actress looked visibly upset while recounting the confrontation. “I did get face-to-face. I let them have it. I said, ‘I hope this haunts you,'” she said. “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.”

Back in the late ’90s and early 2000s, women in the entertainment industry were held to ridiculous body standards. Extremely slender was the only acceptable body type, and the press would destroy anyone who veered from the norm. Remember Britney Spears’ 2007 MTV Video Music Awards performance, which turned the singer into the punch line of every joke because of her weight? That sort of treatment of famous women was considered acceptable.

Sadly, Winslet says that while things have improved, there is still a double standard. “People say, ‘Oh, you were so brave for this role. You didn’t wear any makeup. You had wrinkles,'” the actress said, recalling questions that she is still frequently asked. “Do we say to the men, ‘Oh, you were so brave for this role? You grew a beard?’ No. We don’t. It’s not brave. It’s playing the part.”

At 49, the actress is not afraid to push back and speak her mind, especially after weight became a topic of discussion while filming the recently released biopic Lee, which chronicles the life of WWII journalist Lee Miller. “There’s a bit where Lee’s sitting on a bench in a bikini,” Winslet, who plays the lead role, told Harper’s Bazaar UK. “And one of the crew came up between takes and said: ‘You might want to sit up straighter.’ So you can’t see my belly rolls? Not on your life!”

Although Hollywood slapped a plus-sized label on Winslet, the actress has not let the unnecessary cruelty get her down. Instead, she has become somewhat of an activist for body positivity and doesn’t care about looking perfect in front of the cameras. “I take pride in [my imperfections] because it is my life on my face, and that matters. It wouldn’t occur to me to cover that up,” she said.