“ We can not start the anti - Anne Hathaway thing again . She did her sentence , and it was n’t merit then , and it ’s certainly not deserve now . ”
Anne Hathawaywas just 18 years old when she got her big break as Mia Thermopolis in the 2001 movieThe Princess Diaries.
At the time, the young actor was warmly welcomed by the general public, and quickly grew a dedicated and adoring fanbase that supported her through other breakout roles in hit films likeBrokeback MountainandThe Devil Wears Prada.
But by the time that Anne won her first Academy Award in 2013 for her performance inLes Miserables, seemingly everybody had turned their backs on her.
A decade later, it is clear that there wasn’t really a reason for the so-called “HathaHate” that followed. The beginning of the end can probably bepinned towhen she cohosted the 2011 Oscars withJames Franco, with her enthusiasm rubbing critics up the wrong way.
And it was that same earnest excitement that sparked backlash during awards season two years later, with Howard Sternsayingafter her Oscar win: “Let me sum up why people hate Anne Hathaway; first of all she gets a speechwriter to write her speech. She’s overly dramatic at these award shows. She’s always out of breath. She’s even acting when she’s winning an award.”
This appeared to be the overriding consensus, with critic Richard Lawsonagreeing: “She’s got this theater kid thing where she adopts the mood of every situation she’s in but wildly overcompensates every time. She always seems like she’s performing, and her favorite act is this overstated humility and graciousness.”
While the hatred was obviously incredibly misguided and uncalled for, it was also relentless and prompted a yearlong hiatus from the star. Upon her return to the spotlight in 2014, she admitted toHuffington Post: “My impression is that people needed a break from me.”
Later that same year, Anne toldHarper’s Bazaarthat she’d lost out on acting roles because of the public’s disdain for her.
“I had directors say to me, ‘I think you’re great. You’re perfect for this role, but I don’t know how audiences will accept you because of all this stuff, this baggage,’” she said, adding that learning of the hate had felt like being “punched in the gut.”
She went on to say that the experience of being the internet’s punching bag had made her “a way more compassionate and loving person” as she insisted that she doesn’t “feel sorry” for herself.
Anne’s tactic to withdraw from the public eye and wait out the hate train appeared to work, and before long she was back on our screens as people admitted to being wrong about the star.
In October, Annereflected onthe way that she was targeted during a speech at Elle’s Women In Hollywood event. She said: “10 years ago, I was given an opportunity to look at the language of hatred from a new perspective.”
“This was a language I had employed with myself since I was seven,” she went on. “And when your self-inflicted pain is suddenly somehow amplified back at you at, say, the full volume of the internet… It’s a thing."
“When what happened, happened, I realized I had no desire to have anything to do with this line of energy. On any level,” Anne added. “I would no longer create art from this place. I would no longer hold space for it, live in fear of it, nor speak its language for any reason. To anyone. Including myself.”
“You do not have the right to judge — and especially not hate — someone for existing. And if you do, you’re not where it’s at,” she concluded.
But recently, pop culture fans noticed that the tide was threatening to turn against Anne yet again. And ironically, a red carpet interview from the same Elle event is what triggered the latest discourse.
In the interview, a reporter asked Anne if she had ever spoken about her movieThe Devil Wears Pradawith Anna Wintour, to which she said she had. The journalist then pressed: “And what has she shared?”
“Why would I tell you?” Anne playfully laughed in response. The reporter replied: “Because I’m a fan and I need to know.”
“I know, but you weren’t there,” Anne said.
The interview clip resurfaced on TikTok earlier this month, and the person who posted it branded Anne “so rude” before reiterating in the caption: “why she being rude 😭”
" why would i tell you " why she being rude 😭 # annehathaway#devilwearsprada#annawintour#metgala
“It’s not what she said it’s how she said it. The reporter wasn’t being impolite so there was no reason for her to respond impolitely,” one person wrote. Another added: “she gives such mean girl vibes, I don’t know why people say she’s so nice.”
“That was so unnecessary of her both answers lmao,” a third comment read. One more agreed: “omg since when was anne hathaway like that.”
“celebrities acting flabbergasted when people ask about their lives as if they didn’t choose this life,” someone else wrote. Another said of Anne: “Her energy’s always been off to me.”
“Anne Hathaway gives mean girl vibes,” one more agreed. Another user claimed: “I feel like this is a ‘never meet your idols’ moment.”
“yall would eat this shjt up if it was aubrey plaza,” one personwrote. Someone else agreed: “i love them but if this was aubrey plaza or jennifer lawrence no one would bat an eye.”
i love them but if this was aubrey plaza or jennifer lawrence no one would bat an eye 😭 😭
“People are always more critical when the nice girl stops being nice for 2.5 seconds than they are when the mean girls and snobs act mean and snobby all day,” a third claimed.
People are always more decisive when the nice girl stops being nice for 2.5 seconds than they are when the mean girl and snoot act mean and snobby all day
“I honestly respect the way she stands up for herself and respects other peoples privacy. the public is not entitled to every detail of you life. period,” someone else tweeted.
i honestly respect the way she stand up for herself and respects other peoples privacy . the public is not entitled to every contingent of you aliveness . period .
Others acknowledged the past HathaHate era and shared their refusal for it to happen again. One said: “We cannot start the anti-Anne Hathaway thing again. She did her time, and it wasn’t deserved then, and it’s certainly not deserved now.”
We can not begin the anti - Anne Hathaway thing again . She did her metre , and it was n’t deserved then , and it ’s certainly not deserved nowhttps://t.co/gEwMyASU1X
“y’all not finna bring back the anne hathaway hate train,” another agreed.
y’ all not finna institute back the anne hathaway hate trainhttps://t.co/7Ryjsyt49W
While one more seemingly summarized the entire situation as they claimed: “misogyny is VILE. y’all see successful women and feel threatened so you make up false narratives about her in comment sections…”
misogyny is VILE . y’ all see successful women and experience threatened so you make up false narratives about her in comment section … get help immediatelyhttps://t.co/CMk4qLZas2
