Cate Blanchett has denied that she ever had a sexual relationship with a woman – in spite of an interview last week which said exactly that.

Cate Blanchett has denied that she had had any gay experiences herself – in spite of last week’s Variety interview which told a different story.

Speaking to the press ahead of the Cannes Festival premiere of lesbian drama Carol, the Australian actress had to deny the claims made in the magazine, saying that her quote was taken out of context.

She said, “From memory, the conversation ran: ‘Have you had relationships with women?’ And I said: ‘Yes, many times. Do you mean have I had sexual relationships with women? Then the answer is no.’ But that obviously didn’t make it.”

Cate Blanchett stars as a divorcing mother who falls in love with another woman (Rooney Mara) in Todd Haynes’s new film, Carol.

The mother-of-four then continued: “In 2015, the point should be: who cares? 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.”

The cast expressed the hope that the film might help change policy in the “70 countries around the world in which homosexuality is still illegal”.

“It’s important to talk about,” continued Blanchett, while her co-star, Mara, agreed “there’s a long way to go before we’re not talking about it”.