'Be happy for women, period.' 10 years ago, Anne Hathaway won an Oscar. She received nothing but hate.

Anne Hathaway was just 18 years old when she starred in The Princess Diaries. It was an instant hit and catapulted her to fame.

Yet the film that made Hathaway one of the most famous actors of her generation was none other than 2007's The Devil Wears Prada, which also starred Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt. 

Watch: Anne Hathaway stands up for herself. Story continues after video.

But in 2011, Hathaway's career hit a snag. When she hosted The Oscars with James Franco, her 'performance' was slammed by critics as being cringeworthy.

Famously, she was given a verbal lashing by writer Richard Lawson who labelled her a "theatre kid" who "wildly overcompensates every time".

"She always seems like she's performing, and her favourite act is this overstated humility and graciousness. I've known theatre kids my whole life. I was a theatre kid my whole life. She is the epitome of the bad kind of theatre kid," Lawson wrote.

Image: Getty.

The struggle to connect with Hathaway continued when she scored a Golden Globe for her performance as prostitute Fantine in the 2012 film, Les Miserables.

In her acceptance speech, the actor said the award was a "lovely blunt object that I will forevermore use as a weapon against self-doubt". People thought it was cringey and over-rehearsed. 

Later that evening, when Les Mis picked up another Golden Globe, Hathaway rubbed the world the wrong way when she took hold of the microphone despite being surrounded by the rest of the cast.

Her winning streak continued at the Oscars that year. She stood on stage and said, "It came true," while staring lovingly at the figurine in her hands. She later admitted to having rehearsed her speech.

From that moment on, "Hathahaters" came out in full force and used the hashtag #Hathahate to dispense their vitriol. 

Image: Getty.

Hathaway took a break from the spotlight at that point and didn't return until 2014 with Christopher Nolan's science film, Interstellar. In 2015, The Intern followed, in which she starred in alongside Robert DeNiro.

In 2018, she was one of eight female stars to play a part in Ocean's 8 - an all-female spin-off of the famous Ocean's Eleven franchise.

Hathaway was back, and no one could deny it. 

However, that troubling period - the one where the actor was trolled mercilessly for "rehearsing" her lines, being "earnest", and not connecting with her audience properly - has stayed with her. 

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In 2022, at the Elle's Women in Hollywood event, she spoke openly about the torrent of abuse she endured online almost a decade ago and says she took it as an "opportunity" to learn.

"Ten years ago, I was given an opportunity to look at the language of hatred from a new perspective," Hathaway said. "For context – 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."

The actor went on to say being at the centre of hate made her realise she had "no desire to have anything to do with this line of energy".

"I would no longer create art from this place. I would no longer hold space for it, live in fear of it, nor speak its language for any reason. To anyone. Including myself," she said, firmly.

"There is a difference between existence and behaviour. You can judge behaviour. You can forgive behaviour, or not. But you do not have the right to judge - and especially not hate - someone for existing. And if you do, you’re not where it’s at.

"The good news about hate being learned is that whoever learned it can learn. There is a brain there. I hope they give themselves a chance to relearn love. Be happy for women. Period. Especially be happy for high-achieving women. Like, it’s not that hard."

Feature Image: Getty / Mamamia.

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