See, THIS is why I love her!Welcome to World of the Weird, celebrity edition! Today absurdity came full circle when Brit actress and Academy Award winner Kate Winslet announced that she will be suing The Daily Mail for… insinuating she works out.
For those of you unacquainted with the antics of The Daily Mail, this is the same rag that David Duchovny sued for being lurid and is currently running a headline of “Bad Luck Bimbos: Intelligent Women Have Better Sex.” Pulitzer prize winning journalism is not their forte, is what I’m saying. I’m guessing lots of celebs – and any ordinary person who values their retinas – would have reason to sue the Daily Mail.
So is Winslet upset that the rag called her “Britain’s most irritating actress” or that they said she looked “vampish” in a recent photo shoot or even that they routinely speculate about her love life? Nope, she’s irritated because they think she exercises and she’s not ‘fessing up to it.
The always foxy Kate turned heads earlier this year when she did one of those it’s-my-birthday-and-I’ll-get-naked-if-I-want-to photoshoots that celebs are so fond of these days and it was discovered that not only is she hot on the silver screen (you do remember her from Titanic, right? Oh how I coveted her red hair!) but that she is also svelte and gorgeous without the Spanx. This is news to Hollywood because Kate is known as the poster child for “curvy” women (that’s p.r.-speak for “fat”). She’s Kim Kardashian except classier and without a sex tape. By which I mean she has hips and boobs and has never ever been at all close to fat. But a few months ago, around the time of the photoshoot, Kate was noticeably thinner and more toned than she usually appears.
Winslet’s body-friendly quotes and manner have endeared many women to her – including me. She’s always seemed so sensible and above the media fray. Which is why I so surprised at her latest suit. A few years ago she won a lawsuit against Grazia magazine for saying that she’d gone to see a diet doctor when in fact she’d visited a doctor for a neck problem. I could understand why accusations that she was secretly, desperately dieting would make her mad.
But I’m a little confused by her latest endeavor. In an interview, Winslet had previously said that she does not work out at a gym but rather does Pilates DVDs at home for 20 minutes when she can. The Daily Mail picked up on the quote and citing her recent weight loss (if that’s what it was) accuses her of *gasp* doing more exercise than Pilates. Her rep says “It is understood that the actress took exception because she is often identified as a role model for young women who accept the way they look.”
So what is she saying? That women who accept the way they look shouldn’t exercise? That exercise is only for people trying to change their appearance or who are insecure with themselves? That exercise is not a good thing for young women? That exercising would be evidence that she’d fallen prey to actress-chewing-up machine that is famous for the demise and demoralization of so many others?
I get it. I do understand that she doesn’t appreciate things be written about her that aren’t true. But if she really doesn’t exercise, what that means is that her stunning good looks are attributable only to the genetic lottery. And truly I find that more depressing than just saying she likes to break a good sweat every now and then. Of all the things to – forgive me I can’t help a good pun – get exercised over, fitness is what she chooses?
What do you think? Is this evidence of The Man (or Woman) trying to impugn the rep of a talented and beautiful actress? Or is it more evidence of the crazy litigious world we live in?
PS> I still love her. I can’t help myself. She was just so good in Finding Neverland! Oh ok, and Flushed Away. What? That’s a classic at our house.
I love her too! And like you I’m a bit perturbed about this… Exercise is vital for good health, whether you’re thin or fat. So many people don’t seem to get that.
Good point, Charlotte!
Yeah, this confuses me too! It’s one thing to say: don’t obsess about diet and exercise to meet some arbitrary standard of beauty, but another to say don’t accuse me of exercising!
I’m hoping though that she’s just really tired of tabloids saying things that aren’t true and so she’s taking an aggressive stance because they’re lying. And not because she thinks there’s anything wrong with exercise.
Hope she clarifies… there are so many nutty celebrities out there that I can’t even listen to–I’d hate to have to add her to the list.
There is the same stereotype about salad – you only eat them if you’re fat. I hope that stereotype is going away. It surprises me that of all the things to sue about, it would be this. The media makes up crazy stuff about celebrities and part of the price of fame is that you ignore what they say about you. There are times when I feel bad for a celebrity because the tabloids make up horrible things about them and their families and I wouldn’t blame them for being rattled and sueing. But this?
I love her as much as you…I don’t know what her motives are suing over the exercise accusation, but either way I think she’s a terrific role model.
No one will ever accuse me of never exercising 🙂
Of course I don’t look as great as Kate in those diamond Oscar earrings 🙂
I’m not sure what to say about this one. I feel like there are many lies surrounding celeb fitness. I once heard a story about a celeb who claimed to “hike with her dog” to stay fit, but who, in actuality spent hours a day at the gym. Maybe some celebs don’t want to appear to be mere mortals like the rest of us.
Has anyone seen The Reader, or Revolutionary Road? I’m dying to see those.
Isn’t her name Winslet?
Love Flushed Away! Have watched it many many times (with the kiddos of course)! “It’s Tom Jones!!” cracks me up every time!
I adore Kate Winslet and pretty much any movie she’s ever been in and I can only hope someday to be as curvy as she.
hmmm…I’m a huge fan of her in general and her platform rocks – the strides she’s made in fighting for women’s body image and opening our eyes to the media’s manipulation of photos has been nothing short of amazing. but I feel like this may do more harm than good. I understand what you say, char – no one wants words put in their mouth. but this could be a POSITIVE mention to get out – exercise is good for you and doesn’t mean you’ve fallen victim to America’s diet obsession. On the whole, tho, she’d doing much more good than harm.
Maybe it’s just habit?
The scene: KW’s luxurious yacht. Her agent calls.
Agent: Kate, baby, did you see the paper printed a piece about you?
KW: Let’s sue ’em!
I think she’s trying to let people know that she’s NOT one of those Hollywood types who lies about her workouts (and, yeah, there are lots of those). Just as she railed against the magazine that photoshopped her a few years ago, making her look slimmer than she is.
I truly believe that it’s very important to her that people know she does exactly as she says she does, and that she’s not working out 6 hours a day while espousing body acceptance.
Well, it’s always tricky trying to figure out what people are thinking… and I adore Kate Winslet, so I am most likely biased. I have two thoughts on this… I think I agree with the others here in that perhaps she’s just taking a hard stance on everything the papers say that’s untrue. And just a thought… is exercise a big thing in Britain? If memory serves they’re not as big into fitness for “health” like we are here, so it’s not seen as anything except what overweight people do to lose weight.
I could be wrong, or things could have changed, I’m old and haven’t been over there in a LONG time! My one British gal pal was way back in college, and that was the gist i got from her… as in when I went to go “exercise” she looked at me like I was crazy. Well, maybe that wasn’t because of the exercise…
I wonder if it isn’t that she doesn’t want to be accused of exercising but rather it makes it seem like she secretly exercises like mad and doesn’t just maintain her figure with pilates.
Like many, I love Kate too. She has mostly looked like a regular person vs. the waifs you see on the red carpet & the camera is supposed to add 10 pounds! Hard what to say on this one. I just feel exercise is important whether you are thin, heavy, regular.. health benefits for the heart, lungs, bones and more. Nothing wrong with it & you can do it without being crazed about it like me! Ha!
Yep, all those naturally skinny fat people hark this article. It’s not juuuuust for looks, peeps.
Most Exalted Charlotte,
I seek your advice once again. You’re active and you live in MN, so I’m wondering if you know anything about camping/hiking/canoing/frolicking in the Boundary Waters area waaaay up North? My boyfriend and I are hoping to take a canoe trip up there this summer and I would love any words of wilderness wisdom that you may have. If anyone else has been, please let me know. Thanks!
Mackenzie – LOL! yes, we've been up to the boundary waters. If I have one recommendation it's bring bug spray. And not the wimpy kind. Get the 50% DEET – you know the kind that will probably give us all cancer and melt our hair off – because the mosquitoes and tics and BITING GNATS will eat you alive.
Oh yeah – it's really freaking gorgeous and the canoeing can't be beat and you guys will have a fabulous time! Do know that 99% of it is very remote & cell phone coverage is spotty so be sure to have good emergency supplies.
Um, that should be “ticks”. I don’t know of anyone killed by “tics” but I suppose there is a first for everything. The DEET only helps with teh former tho.
When I read that, I took it that they were implying she OVER exercises. I mean she admitted to doing pilates; they’re just implying that she did more than that and to lose weight.
And if that’s what she’s upset over, I get it – while I’m sure she eats fairly healthy and doesn’t sit around eating pizza, french fries and chocolate cake all day, eating healthy is a far cry from dieting excessively to lose weight. In the same vein, exercising is healthy but overdoing it for the sake of losing weight isn’t. I wonder if that’s what she got upset over. Do you have a copy of the actual article? I’d be interested to read what, exactly, they wrote and how they phrased it.
Exercise should be practiced for good health, period.
But! If we’re talking purely aethetics here, Kate’s message about embracing your natural body is lost on me because she is gorgeous to begin with.
Personally, I’d have a much easier time accepting myself if I had a face like that. Not trying to insult the rest of womankind, here. Just saying.
Kate Winslet is my favorite actress! Lover her so much. That being said, I can understand her not wanting the Daily Mail writing untrue things about her, but I don’t think her lawsuit is really necessary. I mean so what if people thinks she exercises. It’s not like they falsely accused her of some torrid love affair or drug use.