Anne Hathaway, the Oscar-winning actress known for her roles in “The Princess Diaries”, “The Devil Wears Prada”, and “Les Misérables”, has been the subject of a heated online debate after a video of her waving to fans in Italy resurfaced on social media.
The video, posted on X in 2022, showed Hathaway exiting her car and walking to the Valentino fashion show in Rome, surrounded by a crowd of excited fans who wanted to take photos with her. However, instead of posing for selfies, Hathaway politely declined and offered to wave to them.
“I cannot take photos with everyone, but I will stand here and wave if you want to take a photo. I cannot sign, there are too many of you,” Hathaway said in Italian, adding, “Mi dispiace [I’m sorry], but I want you to have something, so if you’d like, I’ll just wave a little bit. Thank you for understanding.”
Hathaway also apologised to another fan who insisted on getting a photo with her, saying, “I cannot [get a photo] with you because then I have to get a photo with everyone; it’s too many, but thank you so much.”
The video sparked a mixed reaction from social media users, who were divided over whether Hathaway was rude or reasonable in interacting with her fans. Some praised her for being respectful and setting boundaries, while others criticised her for being condescending and fake polite.
“Very polite. Celebrities are not obligated to engage with fans,” another person commented. “She could’ve just walked away and snubbed them,” someone else added on X.
“Did she just tell me to calm down? Twenty people are taking a picture,” one user wrote. “It felt condescending,” another agreed. “She was both rude and fake-polite,” a third user commented.
Hathaway has not commented on the video or the controversy surrounding it. Nevertheless, she has shared her experience dealing with the criticism she faced in 2013 when she won several awards for her role in “Les Misérables”.
She learned to avoid news sites that bashed her and to move beyond the “Hathahate” era.
