Winslet wins damages over exercise libel

Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet accepted libel damages of 25,000 pounds ($40,000) on Tuesday over allegations she publicly lied about her exercise regime. The British star, who won a best actress Academy Award for her role in ‘The Reader’, was not at London’s High Court for the settlement of her action against Associated Newspapers. Winslet, 34, sued the company over an article published in the Daily Mail newspaper in January called “Should Kate Winslet win an Oscar for the world’s most irritating actress?” The article had disputed Winslet’s assertion that she did not attend a gym but exercised for 20 minutes or so each day at home, suggesting that the actress must have worked harder on her figure. Her lawyer Rachel Atkins said the story, accompanied by several naked photographs of the actress in various films, was offensive in tone. She added that the newspaper published an apology in September accepting that Winslet had not been duplicitous, and had agreed to pay the damages and costs. reuters