“We learn, we grow, we change,” Winslet told Variety. “I think we should all be allowed to say, ‘Look, I shouldn’t have done that,’ you know? And I think this is a huge, seismic time for all of us, where we’re aware of how many planes we take, for example, or things we have done in the past — or would go back and wish to do differently. And I just want to lead with a bit of integrity, and to just be up front and say, ‘You know what? I probably shouldn’t have done that.’ And so what I said in that Vanity Fair piece is really true, you know: I do regret it. I do regret it.”
Winslet was quoted in her original Vanity Fair interview as saying, “It’s like, what the fuck was I doing working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski? It’s unbelievable to me now how those men were held in such high regard, so widely in the film industry and for as long as they were. It’s fucking disgraceful. And I have to take responsibility for the fact that I worked with them both. I can’t turn back the clock. I’m grappling with those regrets but what do we have if we aren’t able to just be fucking truthful about all of it?” Speaking to Variety, Winslet admitted that she realized working with Allen was a mistake as early as the “Wonder Wheel” press tour. Winslet played the lead role in Allen’s 2017 period drama opposite Jim Belushi, Juno Temple, and Justin Timberlake. “To be completely honest, I think as soon as I was doing press for ‘Wonder Wheel,’ it just made me crashingly aware that perhaps I shouldn’t have done this,” Winslet said. “But what was remarkable to me is that these are individuals who have been feted and praised and patted on the back for decades in this industry. And so by and large, it was presented to actors that these were people who it was ok to work with. But now, of course, I feel I can just say ‘I shouldn’t have done.’ That may well have been the case. But I shouldn’t have done. And so there you go.” It was during Winslet’s “Wonder Wheel” press tour in 2017 that she defended working with Allen to The New York Times. Allen has been accused of molesting his adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow. “As the actor in the film, you just have to step away and say, I don’t know anything, really, and whether any of it is true or false,” Winslet said at the time. “Having thought it all through, you put it to one side and just work with the person. Woody Allen is an incredible director. So is Roman Polanski. I had an extraordinary working experience with both of those men, and that’s the truth.”
Winslet is back in the Oscar race with her lead performance in Francis Lee’s “Ammonite.” The actress is receiving a TIFF Tribute award this week in tandem with the film’s world premiere at the festival over the weekend. Neon is releasing “Ammonite” on November 13. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
