Oh, the case of poor Anne Hathaway. The Oscar-winning actress has received an avalanche of bad press over the past couple of years for that most polarising kind of offence: being herself.
She's the kind of celebrity who inexplicably bugs people. She has "too perfect" an image; a sunny personality that must be fake; a tendency to take herself very seriously. Things really heated up during the 2013 awards season when Hathaway took home many well-earned trophies for her role in Les Miserables. But to many she came off as smug and self-important through the entire process. So despite winning awards, her reputation ended up being greatly damaged instead of enhanced.
Now, Hathaway's back in the news as she makes the rounds for the much-anticipated Christopher Nolan film, Interstellar, co-starring Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain. In the process, she's addressed and defended her image, talking candidly about how people's cruel comments have affected her self-esteem. It's easy to feel sympathetic, but also tough to watch because she's fighting a losing battle: When it comes to public perception of celebrities, it is extraordinarily difficult to change people's minds.
In Harper's Bazaar, Hathaway took a defensive tactic, running down all of the moments people didn't like. Viewers thought she was being "inauthentic" during her grandiose acceptance speech for Best Actress at the 2013 Golden Globes; Hathaway acknowledges the speech was awkward but only because "I couldn't tie this moment to what I really wanted to say".