Kate Winslet deliberately snubbed Harvey Weinstein in her Oscars acceptance speech.
The 42-year-old star picked up the coveted lead actress Academy Award for her role in wartime drama ‘The Reader’ in 2009 and when she collected her statuette, she thanked 19 people by name, but ignored requests for her to thank the disgraced producer, whose company had financed and distributed the film.
She admitted: "That was deliberate. That was absolutely deliberate.
"I remember being told. ‘Make sure you thank Harvey if you win.’ And I remember turning around and saying, ‘No I won’t. No I won’t.’ And it was nothing to do with not being grateful. If people aren’t well-behaved, why would I thank him?"
Kate’s big break came in psychological drama ‘Heavenly Creatures’, which was made by Weinstein’s Miramax Films, and she admitted the £nasty" 65-year-old movie mogul – who is currently in rehab following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct – never let her forget about it.
She told the Los Angeles Times newspaper: "For my whole career, Harvey Weinstein, whenever I’ve bumped into him, he’d grab my arm and say, ‘Don’t forget who gave you your first movie.’ Like I owe him everything.
"Then later, with ‘The Reader,’ same thing, ‘I’m gonna get you that Oscar nomination, I’m gonna get you a win, I’m gonna win for you.’
"But that’s how he operated. He was bullying and nasty. Going on a business level, he was always very, very hard to deal with — he was rude. He used to call my female agent a **** every time he spoke to her on the telephone."
The allegations against Weinstein saw him fired from his own Weinstein Company, and the ‘Mountain Between Us’ actress is pleased it means she won’t have to work with him again in the future.
She said: "The fact that I’m never going to have to deal with Harvey Weinstein again as long as I live is one of the best things that’s ever happened and I’m sure the feeling is universal."
Kate was one of the first stars to speak out against Weinstein after the allegations against him broke last week, and she thinks it is important to speak out against "disgraceful and despicable" conduct.
She said: "In my 20s, I was very forceful and I had a big voice and I would absolutely say things.
"In my 30s, I didn’t feel it was as necessary to go back over ground that I had visited before. I always stood by everything I said.
"Now I feel like, you know what, this is disgraceful, despicable behaviour.
"This kind of treatment of any workplace is utterly unacceptable. And hopefully what will happen is that more women will feel compelled to come forward — these women are victims of crime by a man who was always impossible to deal with. I hope that Harvey Weinstein absolutely is punished within the fullest extent of the law should that be the case."
Kate WInslet snubbed Harvey Weinstein in Oscars speech
