'What … was I doing?': Kate Winslet 'regrets' working with Woody Allen, Roman Polanski

Kate Winslet says she regrets working with embattled directors Woody Allen and Roman Polanski.

During an interview with Vanity Fair, the actress broke her silence on the misconduct and sexual assault allegations surrounding the two directors. She "takes responsibility" for working with Allen, 84, on 2017's "Wonder Wheel" and Polanski, 87, on 2011's "Carnage."

"It’s like, what the (expletive) was I doing working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski?" Winslet, 44, told the outlet. "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 (expletive) disgraceful." 

Watch Kate Winslet and Idris Elba's deleted scene from 'Mountain Between Us'

Although Winslet said she "can’t turn back the clock," the actress said she now has "to take responsibility for the fact that I worked with them both." 

"I’m grappling with those regrets, but what do we have if we aren’t able to just be (expletive) truthful about all of it?" she added. 

Moving forward, Winslet said she has a duty to set a "decent example to younger women" by carefully considering the roles she accepts and the stories she tells. She admits this revelation came after working on Francis Lee's film "Ammonite," which centers around the budding love between fossil hunter Mary Anning (Winslet) and the wife of a wealthy visitor, Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan). The film premieres Friday at the largely virtual Toronto International Film Festival.

"'Ammonite' has made me really aware of being even more committed to honoring what women want to be saying for themselves in films and how we really want to be portrayed, regardless of sexual orientation," Winslet said, describing the film as "so loving, so tender and so beautiful."

She added: "Life is (expletive) short and I’d like to do my best when it comes to setting a decent example to younger women. We’re handing them a pretty (expletive) world, so I’d like to do my bit in having some proper integrity."

Saoirse Ronan and Kate Winslet kiss, fall in love in first trailer for Francis Lee's 'Ammonite'

This marks the first time Winslet has specifically denounced the embattled directors. 

In 2017, she defended working with Allen and Polanski ahead of the "Wonder Wheel" premiere at the New York Film Festival.

"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,' " she told The New York Times. "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."

However, Winslet changed her stance and condemned abuse of power in the film industry at the London Critics’ Circle film awards in January 2018, although she didn't go as far as naming anyone in particular. 

"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," she said during her acceptance speech.

She added: "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."

Allen has been the center of much controversy since the '90s. His adoptive step-daughter, Dylan Farrow, has alleged he sexual abused her when she was a child. Allen has always denied the allegations.

And he raised eyebrows for marrying Soon-Yi Previn, the adopted daughter of longtime partner Mia Farrow, when he was 61 and she 27. They have now been married nearly 23 years. 

Polanski fled the country in 1978 after pleading guilty to the rape of a 13-year-old girl. He's been unable to return to the U.S., not even to collect his best-director Oscar for "The Pianist" in 2003, or to appear at the Academy Awards ceremonies when he was nominated for best director in 1981 for "Tess."

The sexual abuse allegations against both directors resurfaced amid the #MeToo era. 

Contributing: Amy Haneline, Maria Puente

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