Kate Winslet is under fire after she defended working with Hollywood directors Woody Allen and Roman Polanski, both of whom have been accused of sexual assault of a minor.
In 2014, Dylan Farrow, Allen’s adopted daughter, published a harrowing, detailed account of sexual abuse at the hands of the director, alleging Allen, 81, had molested her for years.
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Polanski, now 84, was charged 40 years ago with raping a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles. He fled to Europe and, despite many attempts to bring him back to the U.S. so he can face trial for the alleged crime, he’s avoided extradition thus far. Other women have also accused Polanski of sexual assault.
Winslet, 41, has worked with both directors, most recently on Allen’s as-yet-unreleased film Wonder Wheel. She appeared in Polanski’s 2011 movie Carnage. In an interview with The New York Times, Winslet defended working for the two men, saying that their personal lives should be “put to one side” when doing the job.
(Interestingly, she was only asked about Allen, not about Polanski. Winslet brought him up herself.)
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“Of course one thinks about it,” Winslet said. “But at the same time, I didn’t know Woody and I don’t know anything about that family. 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. 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.”
Needless to say, the Twitterverse was relentless in its response to Winslet’s comments.
Winslet’s next release is The Mountain Between Us, co-starring Idris Elba and screening at this year’s Toronto Film Festival.