The internet moves at break-neck speed. Blink, and you'll miss the latest development in any story.
This week, the chronically online folks were captivated by a 12-year-old interview with Anne Hathaway.
The clip was shared by journalist Kjersti Flaa, who posted an edited video from her junket with the actress for Les Misérables in 2012.
"This didn't go as planned. Watch my latest episode… where I go down memory lane showing another cringe interview," she wrote in her caption on TikTok.
You might be thinking, well that's an odd thing to post right now when Anne Hathaway is making headlines for The Devil Wears Prada sequel and Princess Diaries 3. And you're right, it is! But this is the interviewer who also shared an eight-year-old clip of Blake Lively when the It Ends With Us hate train initially kicked off.
Flaa made headlines around the world at the time, as she titled the 2016 interview her 'worst ever' and said it made her want to quit her job.
With her new video of Anne Hathaway it seems Flaa was trying to see if lightning could strike twice. And it did.
The TikTok video has more than 10 million views, and has been recirculated by thousands of other users editing the clip and reposting. On YouTube, the full video has 269,000 views.
In the video, Flaa says to Hathaway, "I was going to ask you to do the first question in singing. I sing it to you, then you sing back the answer."
Hathaway laughed and replied, "Well, I won't be doing that, but you're more than welcome to sing."
Later in the parts of the interview that we are shown, Hathaway was asked if she remembered her first childhood crush. She replied with a short but polite "um, no." Which is understandable, since this is a professional interview for a serious 1800s war-time musical and not two girlfriends enjoying after work drinks.
She was also asked if love was more passionate in the Les Mis era and said "no."
Were these the most insightful answers? To quote Hathaway, no. But that's not to say they were as rude or callous as they were painted out to be in the comments.
At first, fans were in Flaa's comments declaring Hathaway was rude and the journalist deserved an apology. Then she got one.
"Anne Hathaway just apologised to me for my bad 2012 interview with her," Flaa titled a follow-up video on YouTube.
In the video, she explained that Hathaway's publicist had reached out to offer her an apology from the actress. Hathaway also offered for Flaa to interview her for her next press tour.
"I was so surprised," Flaa said. "I thought she'd never even see that video, but she did, and she did something pretty amazing."
Flaa continued, revealing Hathaway had "explained" herself by revealing "what she was going through" and apologised for "giving me an awful interview."
"I have so much respect for people who own up to their mistakes and say they're sorry," Flaa said in the video. "This is the message I've been trying to put forward in these videos. We have to be nice and polite to each other. I try to show my mistakes."
She then liked a comment saying, "Blake Lively needs to take notes."
The discourse around "Anne Hathaway apologising after an awful interview resurfaced" has kicked off. But it didn't just "resurface." There was a pretty obvious intention in sharing the clip in the first place — which fans have started to call out.
We've all had bad days at work, if you could even call this 'bad'. Our bad days aren't usually filmed, chopped into small clips, and posted online 12 years later.
Every journalist also has interviews that fall flat, or don't go as exactly as planned. It is what it is.
But digging up old content at the opportune time kind of seems like drama for the sake of drama. And fans are mad, given Hathaway has been the subject of unjustified hate for the majority of her career.
The convo has blown up on Twitter, with fans coming to Hathaway's defense.
"No, she didn't do anything wrong. She was just firm in her answers while being polite."
"Anne is so nice lmao but what she apologizing for I'm not hearing anything that was rude?"
"One thing we're not gonna do is go after Anne Hathaway like y'all were doing 10 years ago."
"You're in front of Anne Hathaway and the question is 'do you remember your first crush??? What was the context? Anne was very polite."
"I wish I could learn to say 'No' as effortlessly as Anne."
"It's that same woman who did the Blake Lively interview. Now why are you TRYING to show these women in a poor light??"
"Digging up decade old interviews to try and cancel female celebrities because the interviewer wants more TikTok money by grifting up a new hate train is a practice that needs stop."
All in all, the message is clear: fans aren't going to let the Hathaway hate slide. Not this time around.
Feature Image: YouTube.
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