Ever since her Oscars acceptance speech, one of America’s finest young actresses has been struck by wave after wave of derision. If you’ve been on the internet recently, you know I’m talking about the beautiful Anne Hathaway. I keep shutting my windows and waiting for it to stop, but hurricane Hath-a-Hate is still raining insults and scattering debris. As one of her true fans, I can’t sit by any longer.
Here are 5 reasons to love Ms. Hathaway.
- That pixie cut. C’mon, admit it. It’s so darn chic.
- She’s not “one of the guys.” And frankly, what a relief! There’s a lot of pressure to be “boyish” in taste and attitude. Recently, I was outright shamed for preferring Downton Abbey and The Good Wife to the more “masculine” soap opera Game of Thrones. I chimed in that I liked The Wire, too, but it was too late. My “girly” taste had discredited me with this crowd. But why should it? That’s just plain old-fashioned sexism. Now, it’s been said that Jennifer Lawrence (whom I also adore) is the kind of girl you want to get a beer with, and Anne Hathaway is the kind of girl who probably doesn’t drink beer. And I say, so what? Girls are not “less than” who have what are typically thought of as feminine tastes and qualities. Keep your brewskis, Borathians. I’ll be drinking pink champagne with the Dowager Countess in the drawing room. Anne, please join us. Can’t wait to see what you wear!
- Anne speaks out on women’s issues. She’s the face of One Billion Rising, the global movement to end violence against women, has been candid about her personal struggles with body image, and spoke about the perils of being a sex worker at the Oscars. As Gloria Steinem pointed out on Facebook, most people were too caught up speculating about her nipples or criticizing her likeability factor to register her message.
- She’s a lot more like you and me than you think. Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I’m not free of body image issues (see Lena Dunham) nor do I possess an almost holy level of confidence that lets me handle every situation with breezy grace and a sprinkle of saltiness (see the great Jennifer Lawrence), but I don’t think so. While I admire Dunham and Lawrence and think they are excellent role models, I wonder why we are so very quick to loosen the Twitter hounds on someone who displays a more human – and common – level of fragility, insecurity or guardedness. Maybe if we could be a little nicer to ourselves about our own flaws, we’d ease up on the Hath-a-Hate.
- Anne’s a fabulous actress. This is her job, isn’t it? And she’s amazing at it. See Rachel Getting Married. See Love and Other Drugs. See Les Misérables. I’m going to go out on a crazy limb here and say see Bride Wars. She was real and vulnerable and funny. (And it was written by one of my all time comic favs, Casey Wilson!) And hey, have you heard Anne sing? Because she’s really good. Maybe it’s because I also have unusually large teeth and have been accused of “trying too hard” that I see the best in Anne, but no matter why I started liking her, it’s her acting talent – not her dress darts or acceptance speeches – that will keep me Hath-a-Loving and continue to cement her place as one of the best actresses of our time.
Featured image via OK Magazine
I have always liked Anne Hathaway. I also happen to think she’s an amazing actress. I thought she was great as Catwoman, and my sister thought she was awkward. So whatever floats your boat, folks. She still has the Oscar.
She is a bland and horrible actress and finally everyone is seeing how phony she is. It’s not hating if its true. There is no reason for people to stop stating their opinions on someone as undistinguished as her. I love movies too much to not say anything about how bland this girl is.
Bride to Bride, you make some excellent points. But, until she catches her breath, I am still gonna hate the smart, fat girl.
I don’t hate Anne Hathaway. Even though my friends might disagree because I’ve been known to say “Isn’t Anne Hathaway in that? Ugh. No. I don’t want to see it.”
I just think she’s a bad actress. I will will reluctantly see a film she’s in if it’s free and I’m peer pressured into it. (Batman, Les Mis, That one with Jake Gyllenhaal, Princess Diaries(she was okay in these)) From those I have developed this opinion. I just don’t like her as an actress. That’s not hating. It’s an opinion.
It’s also an opinion I have about many other famous actresses and actors on TV and in movies. (See: Daniel Radcliffe, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart, Channing Tatum, Tom Cruise, Paul Rudd, Maya Rudolph, Hemsworth A and B, Blue Eyes from Lost and a vampire show, Joe Dinicol, George Clooney, Emma Roberts, the guys from The OC, Icould go on for a while.)
I agree with all the reasons to like her, see seems lovely and humble and not obnoxious or rude. I like that she’s feminine and vulnerable and not “one of the boys”. And I give her mad props for handling James Franco at the Oscars that one time … seriously, I would have had a meltdown.
But her career – WHY she’s famous – is because of her acting, which I am not a fan of. I just don’t like her as an actress, although, she keeps getting cast in big movies so whoever is in charge of that obviously disagrees with me, and that’s cool.
But women hating on other women? Yeah we totally don’t need to do that. I’m not hating on her, again, I’d like to make that clear. If all of a sudden the world was super annoyed with Paul Rudd, I would be in agreeance with that but I wouldn’t actively troll and spew about how awful he is, because that is unnecessary (and I don’t know him in the same way I don’t know Anne Hathaway)
I don’t know how much trolling and ranting is going on about/at Anne, but if there is any, then seriously, people, relax. There is no need. There are other things to do with your time than hate on someone you don’t know.
If you don’t like her, don’t see her movies. Move on.
I’ve adored her since her Princess Diaries days (and Rachel Getting Married and Love and Other Drugs were just fantastic). I don’t understand the hate one bit.
I don’t quite understand what it is she triggers in people, but I think it’s both unfortunate and fascinating.
I love Anne Hathaway, she’s always seems such a down to earth kind of girl. Been a fan since The Princess Diaries and pretty much love everything she’s in (although as a Brit, her accent in One Day wasn’t great! But better than other attempts I’ve heard!) I think people hate in her because she is a gentle person and not a brash, in your face kind of person!
I have been a fan of her since the Princess Diaries and I’m really shocked at the hate she’s getting I don’t understand it she’s somehow goofy and classy at the same time what’s not to love!
Still, even though I’m a fan of Anne, I didn’t like her Oscars dress. Not the best choice.
Jennifer Lawrence is great and so is Anne Hathaway, just in different ways. Anne totally does not deserve the hate she’s been getting!
Reason number six: she’s a vegan!
I love this article, love Anne and can’t believe the critique – she was beyond amazing in Les Misérables! I also loved what you said about women not necessarily having to be “one of the boys” – it’s so annoying when that’s expected from everyone. There’s nothing wrong with being a girly girl.
So true!
I love Annie!
Yay!
We don’t have to like everyone. Some people rub of the wrong way for reasons we can’t explain, just like some people we love right off the bat.
That said, if you don’t have anything nice to say, say nothing at all.
People in comment sections are so hateful. They feel it’s their right to rip apart complete strangers because they are making a ton of money for something we think may be easy.
Just remember everyone, they wouldn’t we famous if we didn’t make them famous. If we don’t give celebs a break no one will want to act/sing and our world will be BORING.
Unless someone is killing puppies or keeping hostages, back off. A part of me believes celebrities do read the comment sections, I would!
I would have a hard time not reading them, too!
I’ve always loved Anne Hathaway ever since The Princess Diaries. She’s hands down one of my favorite actresses.
Agreed!
I believe that Anne Hathaway truly is being herself in interviews some people may perceive her to be guarded and careful when she speaks but I always understood that to be politeness. She seems to me to be a shy and very polite person that dedicates herself to her craft so she may not make crazy jokes or flip people off in an interview but thats not necessarily because she is holding back or being fake, she may just not be that kind of girl. Not all of us can be the loud, crazy girl at the party some of us just prefer to keep things calm and classy and that is what I believe Anne Hathaway does.
I think so, too. A friend of mine interviewed her once for People and said she was really polite.
I totally love Anne Hathaway! From Princess Diaries to Ella Enchanted to Les Miserables. She is entitled to be who she wants to be whether off and on cam. If she is being a true person and some people hate her for it, then shame on them. Their hobby of hating and deriding real persons like Anne may just be an indication that they don’t have anything to love in themselves.
-without being too ‘spice girls’ we are all pretty similar, with the same fears, worries, boy issues (cos lets face it, they give us the same problems, famous or not!), haven’t we all got enough to worry about without picking each other apart? If you are a girl, put yourself in Annes shoes, your just a girl trying to live her life and the hate does hurt.
I hath-a-lotta-love for the hathaway! Its a shame the hate comes out particularly when a girl starts doing really well. She becomes judged for every dress, haircut (for the movie!) and every nerve racked speech, and usually from other girls. Its such a shame.
Agreed!
Only thing I don’t like is the haircut. Other than that she seems a very nice person and a good actress. (Yes, I liked the Princess Diaries also.)
I think there was a lot of “hate” going around because of how she comes off in her speeches- and it was ignited when she accepted her critics choice award. {Hathaway was quick to correct, beginning her acceptance speech with “This is a bittersweet moment for me because I have this award, but you spelled my name wrong. “It is with an ‘e.’ It’s probably in bad taste for me to point that out here.”}.. It is her public persona and how she acts in interviews/up on stage that turns people off. To hate a celebrity is silly, however, if you don’t personally know them. I just disliked her actions. It is surprising to see how many people have been arguing about this over the past few months and @Russell Rega- spend their time on it – wasted time, yes.
And I realized I didn’t say how much I agreed with Cate’s comment. I do!
I’m not saying I hate Anne Hathaway, but I think there is just something that’s generally abrasive about her personality. And I didn’t really realize it until her speeches for Les Mis; how she ran up on stage when Les Mis won an award and thanked someone she forgot in her own acceptance speech, how fake she sounded accepting praise from pretty much anyone, etc. I’m definitely not saying she’s a horrible actress or she’s not a good person, I just don’t want to waste my time watching her.
none of these people actually know her… why do people have to form personal opinions on “celebrities” anyway? what’s the point? If you like their acting great… if you don’t great… you don’t have a bad plumber and never shut up about it following them around and watching their every move, talking to all their new clients to whine more… you just get a new plumber and forget about it. So much wasted time. But weak wills and weak minds fueling the media trolls I guess.
Well said. A lot of wasted energy.