Anne HathawayIf you normally think Anne Hathaway is annoying as all get out, but found her marginally less obnoxious during her Best Supporting Actress acceptance speech last Sunday, that was no mistake. A source tells Us Weekly that Hathaway practiced her Oscar speech "a lot" to try and be more likable this time around, because she's tired of being criticized for her corny, insincere awards show speeches.

Let me clarify: those aren't my words. I like Anne Hathaway, but there's definitely something about her that rubs the public the wrong way. Despite her enormously successful awards season run, she's racked up a stunning amount of backlash -- so much so that she admits, "It does get to me."

When asked about being the butt of a never-ending stream of jokes about her acceptance speech demeanor, Hathaway confessed it does hurt her feelings. She added,

But you have to remember in life that there's a positive to every negative and a negative to every positive. The miracle of the universe is that, as far as they know, there's 51 percent matter versus 49 percent anti-matter -- things tip in the scale of the positive. So that is what I focus on.

Salon recently described Anne Hathaway as "Hollywood's most polarizing star," saying that despite her success, she's "the subject of more vituperative, angry scrutiny than perhaps any actress working today." It's true that scanning the comments section of any article written about her is chock-full of Hathaway Haterade, with people saying she's too sappy, too fake, and too desperate.

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When Hathaway took the stage to accept her speech during the Oscars, my Twitter stream lit up with people eye-rolling her before she even opened her mouth. Regardless of how much she might have practiced, she preemptively bugs people now -- it's sort of the Taylor Swift Effect, where any reaction to winning an award will be perceived as disingenuous.

I don't get it, personally. I think she comes across as a very earnest, slightly nerdy drama club kid at heart, not a conniving emotional manipulator. Not everyone can be as relatable and accessible as Jennifer Lawrence when they're under the spotlight. I suspect Anne Hathaway will eventually win over her detractors, but if not, the negative attention will likely move on. If there's anything consistent about our fascination with celebrity culture, it's that we're always looking for a new target.

What's your feeling on Anne Hathaway? Why do you think she gets so much criticism?


Image via Universal Pictures