Kate Winslet Expresses 'Bitter Regrets' Following Woody Allen Backlash
The Titanic actress is breaking her silence.
On Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018, Kate Winslet delivered an emotional speech while accepting the Dilys Powell Award for Excellence in Film at the London Critics' Circle Film Awards, BBC News reports. While she didn't mention director Woody Allen specifically by name, the actress addressed her decision to work with certain controversial filmmakers amid the #MeToo and Time's Up movements, following multiple sexual harassment scandals in Hollywood.
"As women around the world and from all walks of life marched last weekend, once again joining together to speak out against harassment, exploitation, and abuse," Winslet began, in reference to Women's March 2018, "I realized I wouldn't be able to stand here this evening, and keep to myself some bitter regrets that I have at poor decisions to work with individuals with whom I wish I had not."
She continued, "It has become clear to me that by not saying anything, I might be adding to the anguish of many courageous women and men. Sexual abuse is a crime. While it rests with the rule of law to pass judgment, it lies with all of us to listen to the smallest of voices and to never stop listening."
In recent months, the Oscar winner has faced severe backlash for not only continuing to work with Allen but for also refusing to directly address the sexual assault allegations made against him by Dylan Farrow, Allen's adopted daughter.
"At the end of the day, you look at the facts. He's an 81-year-old man who went through a two-year court case. As far as I know, he wasn't convicted of anything," Winslet, who recently starred in the director's 2017 film Wonder Wheel, told the Los Angeles Times in November. "I'm an actor; he's a director. I don't know his family. I've heard and read exactly what you've heard and read. I know as much as you do. That's all I can say."
While Winslet's latest speech certainly marks a slight change of tune, she did point fingers at her critics. "Those who do have a voice are becoming afraid to say anything, because of intense scrutiny and criticism," the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind star, 42, said. "Nobody should be exempt of having a right to speak in support of vulnerable people. There are those who can speak so powerfully for those who are not able to do so themselves, and let us please not make this about which people express public regret."