Kate Winslet Thinks Talking About The Gender Wage Gap Is Just Vulgar

Jennifer Lawrence wrote an essay about dudes getting paid more than chicks in Hollywood. Patricia Arquette used her time on the Oscar stage to fight pay inequality. Sharon Stone said that after Basic Instinct, nobody wanted to pay her to work. And one of my favorite British blossoms Sienna Miller said she farted on an offer to do a Broadway play after finding out she was going to get a paid a lot less than her male co-star. But well, you won’t ever find Kate Winslet Norma Rae-ing for the wage gap movement, because she thinks publicly talking about that sort of thing is trashy.

During an interview about Steve Jobs with BBC Newsbeat, the topic of sexism and the gender wage gap in Hollywood came up and Kate Winslet delicately picked up a china teacup full of tea, took a sip with her pinky out and afterward said that maybe it’s because she’s British, but she’s surprised that these conversations are so public and thinks it’s just vulgar. It’s uncouth! (Side note: I love hearing British people say “vulgar” and I could listen to Dame Joan Collins say it on a loop for the rest of my life.)

“I’m having such a problem with these conversations, because they keep coming up. I understand why they are coming up but maybe it’s a British thing. I don’t like talking about money; it’s a bit vulgar isn’t it? I don’t think that’s a very nice conversation to have publicly at all. I’m quite surprised by these conversations to be honest, simply because it seems quite a strange thing to be discussing out in the open like that.

But you know, to your point, it’s not for me to comment on other people’s comments. Do you know? I think it would be very dangerous for me to do that. I am a very lucky woman and I’m quite happy with how things are ticking along.”

Kate was also asked if she’s ever had any kind of issues with sexism in the movie-making world and she continued to shake her head.

“Honestly, no. If I’ve ever been in that situation, I would’ve either dealt with it or removed myself from it. I don’t really think I’ve ever come across that. No. I find this all quite uncomfortable. I have to be honest. It’s a bit awkward, really. We’re very lucky and I feel so blessed. I am perfectly capable of standing up for myself. I’m a strong individual. And if that’s important to me, yeah, absolutely. But I haven’t ever felt like I’ve had to stick up for myself just because I’m a woman. I can’t honestly say that’s happened.”

Okay, maybe this happened a while ago and I didn’t notice, but when did Kate Winslet transform into a Downton Abbey character? A few years ago, Kate Winslet was talking about how when she lies down to do sex scenes her tits “seek sanctuary” in her armpits, and now she’s like, “Oh darling, that sexism talk is so vulgar. Let’s talk about how beautiful the peonies look this time of year instead.”

And since we’re on the subject of awkward shit that makes us uncomfortable, I always feel uncomfortable when I remind myself that Kate Winslet married a dude whose legal name is Ned Rocknroll.

Pics: Splash