'If she feels tired just hearing it, I'm glad she was not the one singing it,' Dion jokes of 'My Heart Will Go On.' By John Mitchell
Celine Dion arrives at the "Today" show on Monday Photo: NBCUniversal
Celine Dion has finally responded to Kate Winslet's statement that "My Heart Will Go On," the theme song to Winslet's career-launching film "Titanic," makes her sick.
On the "Today" show on Monday, Dion took the criticism in stride — though the look on her face when the topic came up suggested she was maybe a little disappointed in Winslet's slight on the song — and even admitted to some empathy for the Oscar-winning actress, who told MTV News in March that the song still follows her wherever she goes.
"If I just count how many times I've sung it, maybe it'll get me sick," Dion joked to "Today" correspondent Savannah Guthrie. "If she feels tired just hearing it, and, like, throwing up, I'm glad she was not the one singing it."
Asked how she feels when she hears the song, Winslet responded swiftly, saying the song makes her "feel like throwing up." "No, I shouldn't say that," Winslet continued after giving the topic some thought. "No, actually, I do feel like throwing up."
Her words were not intended as in insult to Dion's song itself but rather the fact that it "haunts" her to this day. "I wish I could say, 'Oh listen, everybody! It's the Celine Dion song!' But I don't," Winslet said. "I just have to sit there, you know, kind of straight-faced with a massive internal eye roll."
The actress playfully explained that every time she walks into a bar or restaurant with a pianist and even during a recent interview, people think it's very clever to begin playing the notes to the ubiquitous Oscar- and Grammy-winning smash. "It's thrilling for people to surprise me with the Celine Dion song," the actress confessed.
For her part, Dion, who continues to perform "My Heart Will Go On" as part of her hugely successful years-long residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, was more diplomatic, simply saying, " 'My Heart Will Go On' gave me the opportunity to be associated with a classic that will live forever."
