In yet another instance of a celebrity speaking up against being bullied, actor Kate Winslet has recently revealed how she was made to feel bad about her weight, when she was just starting out in films.

During her recent interview with The Guardian, the Titanic star shared that there was some ‘damage’ to her confidence because of the negative tabloid stories on her weight and appearance. “In my 20s, people would talk about my weight a lot. And I would be called to comment on my physical self. Well, then I got this label of being ballsy and outspoken. No, I was just defending myself,” the 45-year-old actor was quoted as saying.

Winslet was just 21 when she starred opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1997 film. She shared further in the interview that it is “almost laughable” how cruel the stories and tabloid writers were, talking about her weight and appearance when she was just 19!

“It was almost laughable how shocking, how critical, how straight-up cruel tabloid journalists were to me. I was still figuring out who the hell I bloody well was! They would comment on my size, they’d estimate what I weighed, they’d print the supposed diet I was on. It was critical and horrible and so upsetting to read,” she admitted.

In fact, the criticism from British newspapers was so harsh, it made the Oscar-winning actor feel reluctant about going to Hollywood, for fear of the types of headlines she would have to read there.

“It damaged my confidence. I didn’t want to go to Hollywood because I remember thinking: ‘God, if this is what they’re saying to me in England, then what will happen when I get there?’”

The actor added that the constant negative attention on her appearance as a teenager impacted her impression of “what’s beautiful”, adding that she felt “very on my own”. She, however, also said it is “moving” how times have changed over the last few decades.

For more lifestyle news, follow us: Twitter: lifestyle_ie | Facebook: IE Lifestyle | Instagram: ie_lifestyle