Kate Winslet has spoken out against two major Hollywood directors years after she worked with and defended them.

“It’s like, what the f*** was I doing working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski?” Winslet told Vanity Fair. 

In an interview to promote her upcoming film, Ammonite, the 44-year-old said she couldn’t believe the directors were still able to work in the industry.

“It’s unbelievable to me now how those men were held in such high regard, so widely in the film industry and for as long as they were. It’s f***ing disgraceful.

“And I have to take responsibility for the fact that I worked with them both. I can’t turn back the clock.

“I’m grappling with those regrets but what do we have if we aren’t able to just be f***ing truthful about all of it?”

Polanski and Winslet worked together in the 2011 comedy/drama Carnage. Photo: Getty

Polanski has been living in France as a fugitive since 1978, following his escape from the US where he was awaiting sentencing for five charges.

His crimes involved drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.

Woody Allen has been widely criticised for marrying ex-wife Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, and for allegedly molesting his own adopted daughter, Dylan Farrow.

Dylan first reported the abuse in 1992 when she was just seven years old, and  penned a poignant open letter detailing it for The New York Times in 2014.

Allen has vehemently denied all claims made by Dylan.

Winslet worked with Allen in 2017 on his film Wonder Wheel, and  with Polanski in his 2011 film Carnage. 

“Life is f***ing short and I’d like to do my best when it comes to setting a decent example to younger women,” Winslet said.

“We’re handing them a pretty f***ed up world, so I’d like to do my bit in having some proper integrity.”

Winslet defended working with Allen in 2017. Photo: Getty 

Winslet’s comments about the disgraced directors exist in stark comparison to a statement she made to The New York Times in September 2017, a month prior to the popularisation of the #MeToo movement.

“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’,” Winslet said when quizzed about the allegations against Allen.

“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.”

Four months after defending the directors, Winslet changed her tune.

In her acceptance speech at the London Critics’ Circle film awards in January 2018, Winslet said she had been complicit in her silence regarding known sexual abusers in the film industry.

“There are directors, producers and men of power who have for decades been awarded and applauded for their highly regarded work by both this industry and moviegoers alike,”

“It has become clear to me that by not saying anything, I might be adding to the anguish of many courageous women and men.

“Sexual abuse is a crime.”