- Anna Hathaway reflected on the online hatred she received after winning an Oscar in 2013.
- She told The Sun on Saturday that the criticism was a "really good thing" and left her "empowered."
- Hathaway said she relied on her husband, Adam Shulman, and her friends amid the backlash.
Anne Hathaway put a positive spin on the online hatred she received after winning an Oscar in 2013 for her role in "Les Misérables."
The actress, now 38 years old, accepted the Academy Award for best supporting actress following her performance as Fantine in the 2012 Tom Hooper-directed musical.
Despite her success, a wave of criticism targeted at Hathaway rapidly spread online. People picked apart everything from her Prada dress to her acceptance speech.
"I really don't want to dredge up the past but I did have my monster out there, I did have the internet turn on me and hate me and it was like a whole big thing," she told The Sun on Saturday. "And it was a really good thing for me personally."
In retrospect, Hathaway said she felt "incredibly empowered" by the situation.
"So I guess what I'd say is when the bad s--- happens, don't fear it. Just go with it, flow with it," she continued.
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Even though the "Devil Wears Prada" star walked away from the evening with a prestigious award in hand, she said she didn't feel the way she'd hoped.
"You're supposed to be happy. I didn't feel that way," she explained, adding, "I felt wrong that I was standing there in a gown that cost more than some people are going to see in their lifetime, and winning an award for portraying pain that still felt very much a part of our collective experience as human beings."
She continued, "I tried to pretend that I was happy and I got called out on it, big time."
So, as the "Hathahaters" (a term given to the actress' critics) continued their antics on the internet, Hathaway said she leaned on her husband, Adam Shulman, and her friends for support.
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Hathaway has previously reflected on her experience at the 2013 Oscars. In a 2018 social media post, she shed light on her behind-the-scenes experience at the award show five years prior.
"I had to change my dress last minute and so it looked like my nipples were hard, I had full blown laryngitis and had to sing, and a bunch of corny haters were getting lots of attention from the media for being haters but you know what? It was still the best," she captioned an Instagram photo of her holding her statuette.
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