Kate Winslet had a new interview air on Dateline last night. She was typically outspoken and unapologetic about it, and that’s why we love her. Winslet has been looking amazing as she promotes her films and heads to the Oscars this year, but body image is still a big issue for her. As a mother, she thinks it’s important to get out the message to young girls that all the magazines are airbrushed and that women don’t really look that flawless. She also says that she doesn’t know a woman who doesn’t check their butt before they leave the house. I swear I don’t do this. I do put on makeup and do my hair and stuff, but have I lost the will to look good if I don’t check my ass? I think I’ll probably start doing it just to join Winslet’s club.
“I don’t know a single woman who doesn’t stand up and check the tushie before she walks out the door,” she said. “I’ve decided I am going to start loving my backside, really just saying, yes. Because I don’t know anyone who does that, you know? And for my daughter, I want to be able to say to her, I love this.
“[Young women] look at all of us, myself included, on these magazine covers and they think, ‘my God, how does she get skin like that?’ And I can tell you, I have so many blemishes under this makeup that have been so fabulously covered. I promise you. I promise you,” she said. “But I did realize a few years ago that no one actually talks about this retouching thing. It’s like a secret or something. I’m damned if it’s going to be a secret anymore. I really want these young women to know we don’t look like this.”
[From ABCNews]
Winslet also said that although she’s not going to get all outspoken about it of course she wants to win an Oscar this year. Six time nominated Kate phrased it very low-key, and said “It would be nice to know what it feels like in that situation to win sometime.”
As for criticism of her effusive Golden Globes speech, Winslet quipped “I thought that people just reviewed the films. I didn’t realize that they reviewed speeches, too.” She explained that the win was unexpected and “I was genuinely overwhelmed.”
Winslet said she hasn’t written an Oscar speech yet. She claimed she knew in the past she wasn’t going to win, “but this year I would say I can’t actually tell.”
It looks like it’s between Winslet and Streep for best actress, but it would also be wonderful if longshot Melissa Leo won for Frozen River. Marion Cotillard won last year unexpectedly and this category is kind of wide open again this year. There’s also Anne Hathaway, who took home the Critics Choice Award and gave a much worse speech than Winslet’s. It’s kind of doubtful that Angelina will win. I hope Winslet, Streep or Leo win the Oscar. Kate’s been nominated many times while Streep is a legend and Leo might not get this chance again.
Kate Winslet is shown in Berlin at a photocall, press conference and premiere of The Reader on 2/6/09 with co-stars Ralph Fiennes and David Kross. Credit: WENN
LOL i love her. and i totally check out my ass and think “damn that’s a nice ass” before i go places 🙂
I will admit that I check my butt in the mirror. But I really like my ass, so it’s usually ti boost my confidence!
I almost always do this for the reasons already given! But I do have a full-length mirror in my hallway so difficult not to. Kate’s great and she’s right about people reading too much into her acceptance speech. Jeez, she was excited, I’ve heard much worse.
I never really thought about it, but I check the butt too.
Easily known she’s never met me *wink*
I check my touchie… doesn’t mean i don’t love it…. usually im just checkin just to make sure it’s being shown in all its glory… 😀
I always check to make sure my skirt isn’t tucked into my knickers!
i always check out my ass before i leave in case there’s something stuck to it. & it usually looks pretty good!
I check mine to make sure it’s covered so no one else has to look at it!!!
I come from NO ASS people. lmao
All right, I admit it. I do check my butt before I leave the house. Always have. And I’m sure my friends do too…
Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever checked my butt (aside from the occasional cellulite inspection, which never ends well). I need to get with the times!
I check my ass to see if I’ve gained weight their. What happened to my once rockin ass?
I’ve loved her honesty ever since I read an interview where she said after childbirth her boobs were like flapjacks. They look great to me, but who knows what’s pushing them up or if she got a boost.
Funny. I check to make sure my makeup isn’t wierd, but I don’t check my butt. Guess I should start, huh?
Uh!!
She’s SOOOOO wonderful.
I love her.
Enough with this already.
She picked years ago and keep doing the same things.
Yes, she has been getting naked and done a lot of nude scenes (=”showed her “commitment” to acting and her desire to get recognition no matter what is the price”)
but this never ending campaign is really showcasing how little Kate thinks of women.
For once, Hollywood should do the right thing and reward the best performance and not the best campaign.
For once, please prove the these trite PR tricks are of no importantce and the best actress would get the Oscar.
The best would be Cristine Scott Thomas and nothing that Kate can say about her butt, and no matter how many more times should she do her porn scenes, would change the fact that CST delivered the best performance this year.
“Picked”=”peaked”, sorry.
I think it’s great that she’s outspoken about how airbrushed celeb photos are, and how much make-up they’re wearing on the red carpet. I mean, we all know it’s true, but it’s nice to hear it from the horse’s mouth. It’s easy to forget, when you see a seemingly wrinkle-free, “perfect looking” 40-year-old celeb at a big event, that she’s standing under incredibly flattering lights, wearing make-up it took a professional hours to apply, and so sucked/strapped/pushed into her dress that she can barely breathe!
Kate Winslet is a wonderful actress and she’s very much deserving of an Oscar.
That being said, the interviews and/or statements she’s been giving lately are a mess of contradictions.
She obviously has an unhealthy body awareness while similarly claiming she doesn’t know why Hollywood is so obsessed with thin people. I’m not checking my butt when going out and I honestly don’t know if any of my friends are doing this, because I don’t pay attention to such things.
She’s not that much into sports, yet regularly finds the time and devotion to do a twenty minute pilates workout (if I’m not mistaken she said she’s doing it every morning).
She admits here that all magazine covers/ photos are airbrushed and that women don’t look like that, but a few weeks ago she got upset at the very “accusation” of her own Vanity Fair photo shoot.
And I refuse to believe that she doesn’t know that EVERYTHING she says and does in these few weeks prior to the Oscars are either hurting or advancing her chances to win. Sure, a win should be based on the performance alone, but she must know that a lot of it has to do with her public image, and speeches are part of that. Why is she then (like evrerybody else) campaigning for it? What are all these interviews for? If you don’t believe this, just look at the new level of height that Meryl Streep’s chances for a win reached and how much people are rooting for her AFTER she gave that funny and witty speech at the SAG awards. Hardly a coincidence.
If this was a lesser actress or someone I didn’t admire as much as her, I would be rolling my eyes at the hypocrisy shown here. But it’s Kate Winslet and I’m just baffled.
eh, who cares, she’s a great actress and doesn’t have an embarrassing private life, THANK GOD, like most of the rest of them.
Anyway — Ralph Fiennes is BALD NOW? YUCK. He used to look like a leering somewhat good looking guy, but now he just looks like a fiend. He plays great villains and whiney dumpees in all the films I’ve seen.
There’s a reason Nature put our bums where we can’t see them
You speak for your own bum, xia! (love your gravatar btw)
Honest to God, taking every single word she’s says seriously and reading all sort of meaning into it is ridiculous. This ‘checking her ass’ was a light-hearted comment – reading all sorts of deep body image issues into it is just comical.
Winslet feeds it by never shutting up about it herself
…anyway, bums are comical – remember that film Yoko Ono made? Bottoms. It was an absolute scream
xia – yes, saw that at the ICA a few yrs back. A hoot!
Kate is going on a bit, I agree. Which is why I’m rooting for Meryl.
Call it ridiculous or comical, your last sentence (or two) are sealing what I said.
(nods up and down)…yep….I check the backside….looking for panty lines!
@Lara – I agree there’s a Winslet overload going on and that, yes, it’s puzzling considering it’s her, but just think the ‘body’ comments are being taken too seriously. I don’t find what she says contradictory.
I agree Geronimo. I don’t find anything she says contradictory. People are always looking to tear down those who are on top.
And I always check my butt before I leave the house!
Huh. I never ever ever ever EVER check my butt out before I leave the house. I’m not sure I check my butt out ever. It’s still back there, what do I need to look at?
Hollywood makes everyone scruitise their body too much, which is filtering down to KW.
Doesn’t seem to be hurting her awards though…
(it’s Kristin Scott Thomas btw)
gg – you have to see him In Bruges. Picture that doing a Michael Caine impression.
Checking your butt before going out does not equal a bad body image. Like Dirty Martini said, I’m usually looking for panty lines or something stuck there from where I sat down doing my make-up.
Now I can see why some people go out with panty lines showing and either not caring or not realizing.
Ladies: Panty lines are not cute. Having a giant swoosh of cover-up on your butt is not cute (seen that waaay too many times to count at fancy parties). Check your tush before going out. It doesn’t mean you are narcissistic. It doesn’t mean you have bad body image. You check your face before you go out, why not check the areas you can’t easily see when out and about?
oh and lara, pilates aren’t sports. I hate sports and I do pilates quite a bit. Not a contradiction. And 20 minutes? Do you know how little exercise that is? Pilates aren’t that hard if you are in decent shape. Most pilates classes I’ve taken were at the very least a half hour; usually they are an hour.
NotBlonde: Wow, I never realized that not checking my ass before I leave the house means I’m afraid of being narcissistic or succumbing to the “body image” craze. Here I thought it was simply because it never occurred to me to do so. But since you feel so adamantly about the subject, I’m going to purposely NOT check my ass ever again, so I can annoy folks who give a shit about what’s going on with other people’s rear ends. My purpose in life: REVEALED.
Hypocrisy is a mild word.
Incredibly pretentious, sanctimonious and playing the sympathy card
(“I am an insecure over-weight woman, don’t you women root for me?!” Well Kate, do you know any insecure woman who would pose naked and show so much skin both on screen and in magazines?)
Same goes for wearing fur, claiming to be against it and blaming other people when there is a photo of yours wearing one.
Same goes for claiming you are against the pressure of actresses (and women) to get thin- and then when you get caught going to a guy who specializes in losing weight ASAP, to lie as if you went to the guy for other reasons.
So Kate, you are just as many other Hollywood women- you bleach your hair, you get the fake tan, you crash diet and do whatever you can to loose weight.
Oh, and you marry a director to have better roles and career advancement while not so secretly longing for a shallow actor (Leo) who blew you off, years ago.
Codzilla…….I’m going to purposely NOT check my ass ever again, so I can annoy folks who give a shit about what’s going on with other people’s rear ends……
Priceless!!! LOL LOL LOL
Don’t really check my butt, but should, in case something’s on it…
I do check my boobs, though, to make sure they’re all nice and pretty. 😉
Codzilla: Same for me, never ever thought about checking my ass !
NotBlonde: I for once never sit while doing my make-up (doesn’t take an hour), and though my house is not always as clean as I’d like it to be (kids), I’m quite sure there’s no sticky junk on my chairs…
Of course I’m not that attracted to the glamourous lifestyle. Oh, well, so I never have to worry about panty lines or other horrors.
Mairead – “Hollywood makes everyone scrutinise their body too much, which is filtering down to KW.”
Agree, it must get under people’s skins, even the normally most balanced of people.
while i admit i do love Kate, isn’t she the same person who kicked and screamed to the press about not being airbrushed after her Vanity Fair shoot?
I thought everyone did that, usually it’s just to make sure there are no labels sticking out, no tears, no fluff – things like that.
Doesn’t mean you’re running commentary on your behind – but even if you were, you kind of want to check it before anyone else does. Just makes a certain degree of sense.
Same as checking your face.
No idea what the fuss is about.
Thanks FF. I felt like I was getting a reaming for saying that I check my butt for stuff.
And I don’t check other people’s asses out but when someone is standing there with tight pants or a tight skirt on and you can tell exactly what kind of underwear they are wearing…I just wonder if they did that on purpose or if they just didn’t notice.
It’s like walking out of your house without checking your hair or something. Older folks may not care, but I’m 22…I do not want random stuff on my ass or panty lines.
To all those saying she’s a hypocrite: she’s not saying “I have a perfect body image.” She’s saying that women today DON’T have good body images and that she is doing her damn best to make sure as many girls as possible can realize how terrible this is.
It’s like moms who smoke telling their teenage children not to. Sure, the immature, rebellious teen’s reaction is to yell, “you’re such a hypocrite!!”, but if they could get past that, they’d see that their mom is saying, “I don’t want you making the same mistake I did by starting.”
It sounds like you’re creating problems yourself by trying to solve this issue instead of looking at why their is a problem in the first place.
However many holy words you read,However many you speak,What good will they do you If you do not act on upon them?
You have reached the pinnacle of success as soon as you become uninterested in money, compliments, or publicity.