The 'Carol' actress insists that she never said she had sexual relationships with women in the past, claiming that her statement was edited for dramatic effect.
- May 18, 2015
AceShowbiz - Cate Blanchett clarified a quote which suggested she was lesbian. Speaking to the press at the Cannes Film Festival to promote her new film "Carol" which centers on a romance between a married mother and a female shop assistant, she insists her statement was taken out of context.
"From memory, the conversation ran, 'Have you had relationships with women?' And I said, 'Yes, many times. If you mean I've had sexual relationships with them, the answer is 'No'," the Oscar winner explained, before adding, "That obviously didn't make it to print."
Blanchett's initial claim was quoted by Variety magazine. In response to the actress' denial, the mag's journalist Ramin Setoodeh defended the quote, "When I asked Cate Blanchett if she'd had lesbian relationships in real life, she said: 'Many times.' She was accurately quoted."
"But in 2015, the point should be: who cares?" Blanchett said. "Call me old fashioned but I thought one's job as an actor was not to present one's boring, small, microscopic universe but to make a psychological connection to another character's experiences. My own life is of no interest to anyone else. Or maybe it is. But I certainly have no interest in putting my own thoughts and opinions out there."
When asked how homosexuality was then and now, she said, "There are 70 countries around the world where homosexuality is still illegal so it still seems to be an issue. I think the interesting thing about this, and certainly playing a character like Carol, is that sexuality is a private affair."
"I think what often happens these days, if you are homosexual, you have to talk about it constantly; it has to be the only thing you put before your work and any other aspect of your personality," she added. "We are living in deeply conservative times. If you think otherwise, you're very foolish."
