This week, the Internet seems really mad at Anne Hathaway, mostly for not being Jennifer Lawrence. A Salon article on Tuesday begged the question “Is it a gender double-standard—or is it her face?” The article concludes that, while all women in the public eye face a ridiculous amount of scrutiny, Hathaway seems to have it particularly bad. People hate when she seems too polished, and think her attempts at relatability are awkward and forced. Her naked ambition strikes bloggers as ugly and unflattering, but her faux-humility is even worse. Interestingly enough, most of the Hathahaters out there aren’t anonymous online misogynists who are just afraid of vaginas. In fact, women seem to be leading the angry mob. A blogger on women’s interest site Crushable offered this decisive take down: “Shut up. Shut up, Anne Hathaway. I honestly don’t know what it is. Maybe I’m jealous, but I don’t feel jealousy. I watch her in outtakes, and I feel like she’s not a real person. I don’t find her perfection charming. I find it annoying.” According to US Weekly, Anne Hathaway is fully aware of how she’s perceived, and “worked very hard on preparing her thank-you for the Oscars” in an effort to be more likable.
I get it. As Ann Friedman wrote for The Cut, Hathaway seems like “that theater kid with good intentions,” a “really affected drama queen” who you could imagine “non-ironically yelling ‘Acting!’” In other words, she seems like the kind of actor who would cry watching her own performance. Because, ya know, she did that. But here’s the thing: you don’t have to want to hang out with Anne Hathaway or even like her, but you should respect her. After all, Hathaway’s an unabashed feminist (as shown in the above kick-ass Today show clip), and isn’t “unlikable” a wimpy accusation that’s been leveled at feminists for too long? Lena Dunham, another polarizing lady luminary, offered this decisive twitter-take on Hathahate: “Ladies, Anne Hathaway is a feminist and she has amazing teeth. Let’s save our bad attitudes for the ones who aren’t advancing the cause.”
Image Via Fandango
