Kate Winslet recalls worst part about notorious Titanic debate

The ‘Mare of Easttown’ actor has reunited with ‘Titanic’ director James Cameron for new Avatar film

Kate Winslet has said she was body-shamed about one of the most famous, and hotly debated, scenes from James Cameron’s 1997 hit Titanic.

Even as the film approaches its 25th anniversary, people have continued to question why Rose (Winslet) couldn’t make room for Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) on the floating door during the climax scene.

During Friday’s (16 December) episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the Mare of Easttown actor said some of the press coverage and comments about that final scene were “so mean”.

“Apparently I was too fat,” she told host Josh Horowitz. “Why were they so mean to me? They were so mean. I wasn’t even f***ing fat.”

With reference to these derogatory comments made about her by the tabloids, Winslet said she would have responded to the coverage differently today “if I could turn back the clock”.

She explained: “I would have said to journalists, 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.”

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in ‘Titanic' (Paramount)

Winslet has previously spoken about being fat-shamed by her drama teacher when she was 14.

While dedicating her 2016 Bafta win to “all the girls who are doubting themselves”, the British actor revealed how she was told “I might do OK if I was happy to settle for the fat girl parts”.

Director Cameron, whose latest film Avatar: The Way of Water was released earlier this month, recently revealed he did a “scientific study” to settle the debate around Jack’s death once and for all.