It’s one of the biggest questions in cinematic history: Could Jack have survived at the end of “Titanic?”
It’s been 25 years since viewers first witnessed the shocking death of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in James Cameron’s epic, and costar Kate Winslet is finally addressing if he could have lived.
If you’re unfamiliar with the ending, let’s go back. The box-office sensation ends with Jack (DiCaprio) and Rose (Winslet) surviving the sinking of the Titanic. But in the icy waters, Rose floats on a broken door. Jack, unable to also get on, stays in the water and hangs onto the edge of the door — eventually freezing to death.
Since then, the question has always lingered if Jack could have survived.
“Happy, Sad, Confused” podcast host Josh Horowitz put the question to DiCaprio while the actor was doing press for “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,” but only got a “no comment” from the star.
Recently, Horowitz tried his luck with Winslet while she was promoting “Avatar: The Way of Water” and struck gold after he showed her DiCaprio’s stonewalled response.
“I don’t fucking know. That’s the answer, I don’t fucking know,” Winslet said at first before actually giving a well-thought-out answer after explaining that she has an “understanding of water” from all the water activities she does from paddleboarding to scuba diving.
“If you put two adults on a stand-up paddleboard, it becomes immediately extremely unstable,” she explained. “So the reality is, it was a door. I have to be honest, I actually don’t believe that we would have survived if we had both gotten on that door. I think he would have fit but it would have tipped and it would not have been a sustainable idea.”
“So, you heard it here for the first time,” Winslet concluded. “Yes, he could have fit on that door but it would not have stayed afloat.”
“Titanic.” Paramount Pictures
But Winslet wasn’t done. She then went after those who have made snide comments about her weight over the years, insinuating that it was the reason Jack wasn’t floating with her.
“Apparently, I was too fat,” she said, looking into the camera.
“Isn’t it awful?” She said to Horowitz. “Why were they so mean to me? I wasn’t even fucking fat.”
“If I could turn back the clock I would have used my voice in a completely different way,” she said. “I would have responded: ‘Don’t you dare treat me like this. I’m a young woman. My body’s changing. I’m figuring it out. I’m deeply insecure. I’m terrified. Don’t make this any harder than it already is.’ That’s bullying, and actually, borderline abusive.”
