Anne Hathaway might be one of the most commendable stars today, but the industry wasn’t always this kind to her. Over a decade ago, when the “Hathahate” phenomenon unfolded, was when Hollywood turned against her, even though the actress hadn’t done anything discernible wrong. But she worked pretty exceptionally at reinventing herself after that.

For one, when the backlash was at its peak after she won an Oscar for Les Misérables, filmmaker Christopher Nolan disregarded the noise that cost her roles and cast her in his 2014 masterpiece, Interstellar. That served as a crucial career-saving move for Hathaway that allowed her to maintain momentum when others were hesitant to hire her.

Then there was the actress’s own conscious decision to step away from the public eye following her Oscar win, leaning into her intense personality and beginning to exhibit more vulnerability. She pretty much stopped trying to be likable or perfectly polished in interviews, focusing instead on being her authentic self, which, paradoxically, made her more relatable.

Lastly, Anne Hathaway chose to move away from leading solely large-scale blockbusters, opting instead for nuanced, sometimes unlikable, or experimental roles that showcased her versatility. These roles included Colossal (a sci-fi indie), Ocean’s 8 (a fun, ensemble role), Eileen (a dark psychological thriller), and The Idea of You (a rom-com), all of which really helped her reinvent her persona in Hollywood.

To sum it up, Hathaway’s reinvention after that intense, largely inexplicable 2013-2014 backlash was not achieved through a dramatic PR overhaul, but rather, through a strategic combination: She chose challenging roles to depict her versatility, embraced authenticity and leaned into her genuine, enthusiastic, theatrical nature, and stepped away from the spotlight to foster a fashion renaissance.

Why Did Hollywood Turn Against Anne Hathaway?

It all goes back to around a decade and a half ago, with Anne Hathaway’s widely panned Oscars hosting gig with fellow rising star James Franco. While both stars have gone on to prove themselves on numerous different levels in Hollywood, that particular gig was nothing short of a disaster back then, especially due to their lack of chemistry.

At the event, while Hathaway appeared too cheery and enthusiastic, Franco, trying to act too cool, brutally clashed with her. Plus, in the wake of criticism, he even threw her under the bus, saying on The Late Show with David Letterman that year:

Anne Hathaway is so energetic, I think the Tasmanian Devil would look stoned standing next to Anne Hathaway.

Things turned brutal for the actress when she was next cast as Catwoman in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, angering comic book fans since the actress wasn’t sexy enough. The worst of the worst came during the 2013 awards circuit, when every speech she made ended up being criticized for being too rehearsed.

Even with her best tries, people kept finding faults in her, from her appearance to her acting. Well, today, the criticism hardly matters, seeing how The Odyssey star’s career has skyrocketed despite the taboo associated with ‘age’ and being a female actor.

Anne Hathaway Addressed Hollywood’s Criticism Against Her

Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine in The Idea of You | Credits: Amazon MGM Studios

Despite the world trying to dim her light, Anne Hathaway has never dwindled. In a cover story for Vanity Fair, the actress talked about her experience, from her very first days in Hollywood to now.

All the advice that you’re given is to protect yourself. ‘Everybody’s dangerous and everybody’s trying to get something from you.’… People were advising me that I armor myself and keep that distance, and that I have two selves. I found that terribly confusing. So I don’t do it that way. I’m not armored.

While The Devil Wears Prada 2 star doesn’t want to look back at the time when people criticized her, she did in her Women in Hollywood speech in 2022 talk about how it hurt her (via Vanity Fair):

This was a language I had employed with myself since I was seven. 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.

Even though she earned an Oscar in 2013, the actress revealed that no one would give her any role. Yet, Nolan came in at the right time and cast her in Interstellar, and she is glad that he came to her rescue.

A lot of people wouldn’t give me roles because they were so concerned about how toxic my identity had become online. I had an angel in Christopher Nolan, who did not care about that and gave me one of the most beautiful roles I’ve had in one of the best films that I’ve been a part of. I don’t know if he knew that he was backing me at the time, but it had that effect. And my career did not lose momentum the way it could have if he hadn’t backed me.

Despite humiliation, Hathaway understood that she needed to stay bold like a tightrope walker. Now she is a lot more comfortable and confident, letting things happen without trying to control anything.

Well, she has come a long way now, and fan hate is the least of her concerns in her sprawling, still-going-great career. What do you think about her career now? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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