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Mail sticks knife in Winslet – and then withdraws it
Has paper finally realised that women readers will take only so much criticism?
Has the Daily Mail gone too far this time, even by its own distinctly misogynist standards? An intriguing act of editing has taken place on a particularly vicious story that was posted on its website this morning.
Running under the headline 'Kate Winslet reveals her killer curves in sheer dress... Shame about the unsightly peach fuzz', the hatchet-job complimented the English actress on the "stunning outfit" she wore to the premiere of Mildred Pierce in New York - before lamenting that the "clearly visible" and "unsightly" peach fuzz on her face was "letting her down".
"Whoops!" the piece began, as the Mail tucked in with relish.
Lest the paper be accused of merely sticking the knife in, the Mail helpfully went on to suggest that "if the Oscar-winning actress had left the make-up to absorb into her skin for a little longer before being photographed, it wouldn't have highlighted the hair so pertinently".
So far, so Daily Mail.
But then - 'Whoops!' - that version of the story disappeared from the paper's website early today to be replaced by a far more anodyne and inoffensive version in which the star's "powdery face" became the cause for concern. All references to "peach fuzz" were gone, to be replaced with some mild comments about Winslet's "powdery complexion".
"Her pale make-up did nothing to flatter the actress's stunning features," the Mail now opined. "Just recently, Kate discussed the joys of a good lipstick, some advice she may have been better advised to follow."
It's almost as if someone had cold feet at the Mail's stately Kensington headquarters and realised that such a wantonly misogynist story could turn off a substantial part of their huge following among women readers.
On the other hand, it's never stopped them before. Under the long editorships of David English and, since 1992, under Paul Dacre, the paper has had a consistently inconsistent attitude to women – in one column celebrating their fabulous looks and dress sense, in the next goading them for cellulite thighs and wardrobe malfunctions.
Did someone finally see the light?
Spot the difference:
