Quoted in an article discussing public reaction and cricitism to Hollywood celebrities

1. I
tcametrue,’AnneHathawaygushedas
sheheldherOscarforBestSupporting
Actresslastmonth.Butit’sbeenmoreof
anightmarethanadreamfortheactress,
who’sbeenlabelledthemosthatedstarin
Hollywoodsincetakinghomethegong.
ThebacklashagainstAnne,whichhas
beendubbed‘Hathahate’,hasbeennothingless
thanvicious–andshe’stakennoteofit.‘Itdoes
gettome,’shesays.‘Butyouhavetoremember
thatthere’sapositivetoeverynegativeand
anegativetoeverypositive…thingstipinthe
scaleofpositive.SothatiswhatIfocuson.’
Butwhydoesthestardrawsuchcontempt?
Somehaveaccusedthe30-year-oldofbeing
falselyself-deprecating.‘Thankyouverymuch
forthislovelybluntobjectthatIwillforevermore
useasaweaponagainstself-doubt,’shesaidin
herGoldenGlobesacceptancespeech.Butthe
fansweren’tbuyingit.‘Ilovethateveryonehas
theirownreasonforhatingAnneHathaway
but,intheend,wecanallcometogetherto
agreeshe’sawful,’postedoneonlinecommenter.
Tobefair,thestarhasmadeplentyof
commentsboundtoirritatepeople.‘Iknewthat
someonewasgoingtohavetogointhereand
dosomethingprettyspecialtounseatme,’Anne
saidofherauditionforLesMisérables.Andof
thepixiehaircutshegotfortheroleofFantine
sheremarked,‘Ihopethisisn’tobnoxioustosay
–Ifeelprettier,andmuchmoremyself.Iguess
Ijustfeelmuchmoresatisfiedwithlessnow.’
Thesekindsofstatementsarefodderforthose
lookingtobringdownthestar.Bethatasitmay,
doesAnnedeservetheextremevitriolbeing
slungather?Plentyofherfellowcelebsdon’t
thinkso.‘Ladies:AnneHathawayisafeminist
andhasamazingteeth.Let’ssaveourbad
attitudesfortheoneswhoaren’tadvancing
thecause,’tweetedGirlsstarLenaDunham.
AmericanTVhostAndersonCoopersaidhe’d
beenoffendedbytheattacks:‘Inourmeeting
today,weweretalkingaboutthisandthelevel
ofhatredpeoplehavetowardsAnne–Ihad
noidea,’hesays.‘Sheseemslikeaperfectly
lovelyperson…Itupsetme.’Butnoteveryone’s
defendingAnne.‘Letmesumupwhypeople
hateAnne,’saysUSshockjockHowardStern.
‘She’soverlydramatic.She’salwaysoutofbreath.
She’sevenactingwhenshe’swinninganaward.’
opinionThe
Everyone loves to hate ‘perfect’ celebrities like Anne
Hathaway – but is it justified? OK! investigates…
Crimes
Otherssuggestit’sactuallyAnne’slack
ofconfidenceandherdeepdesirefor
peopletolikeherthatisoff-putting.‘She’s
tryingtoohardtopleaseeverybody.Stop
respondingtoeverything.Apologise
privatelytoValentino,’saysPR
consultantVanessaCastedo,
referringtoAnne’sstatement
explainingwhyshehadn’twornher
designerpal’sgownstotheOscars.
‘She’sgotthistheatre-kidthingwhere
sheadoptsthemoodofeverysituation
she’sin–rudeandbawdyonChelsea
Lately,poisedand“classy”attheOscars,
etc–butwildlyovercompensatesevery
time,’journalistRichardLawsonagrees.
Sydney-basedpsychologistDanya
BraunsteintellsOK!thenegative
responsetoAnnecouldbebecause
anne hathaway
publicenemyNo.
1
36 www.okmagazine.com.au March 18, 2013 March 18, 2013 www.okmagazine.com.aU 37
gwyneth
paltrow
Her lifestyle blog,
GOOP.com, continues to
attract venom from those who
believe its message – how to
enjoy ‘the good life’ – is self-
righteous and out of reach
economically for most.
Gwyn’s response:
‘F--- the haters!’
miranda kerr
The model angered
fans last year with her
comments on marriage: ‘Put
a little make-up on, put on
some nice underwear, and
you’ll keep your husband,’ she
said. While her preaching
about organic living also
rubs many the
wrong way
taylor swift
The singer used her
song Mean to hit back at
haters in 2010 – and while
she admits negativity is
part of the job, she adds,
‘There’s a line you cross
when you start to attack
everything about
a person’
Pickingonthe
populargirl
OK ornotOK?

2. opinionThe
It can
work
foryou
It can
ruin
lives
PR expert Max Markson says
negativity is not always bad
Anti-bullying lobbyist Chloe
Cunningham says it has to stop
Hate campaigns can sometimes lead to
even greater success. If you’re a major
celebrity, then there are always going to be
haters out there who want to pull you down;
when you’re a star and you’re out there
with a big personality, you’re going to
get it whatever you do. Even if you win an
Oscar, or if you’re top of the charts, people
are still going to criticise you – but what
happens then is that you get the sympathy
vote. Certain people that might have been
ambivalent, and previously said, ‘Oh, I don’t
care’, then see someone getting knocked
down and come out in support of the star.
That’s starting to happen with Anne
Hathaway already. At the end of the day,
she gave a spectacular performance, she
stood out from a star-studded cast and she
won an Oscar – she had the last laugh. She
has done really well, and she has people’s
sympathy now, too. My advice to celebs in
her position is to respond with dignity, rise
above it and ignore it totally. If you want to
respond, you’re going to get a reaction, and
it stirs everybody up – fuelling the fire. But
you can come out of it well if you treat it
with a sense of humour. You can win there.
As the co-founder of anti-bullying campaign
Angels Goal Inc (angelsgoal.org.au), I've
seen firsthand that bullying is a life-ruining,
worldwide epidemic. It has become part of
our culture, but just because someone is a
celebrity does not justify denigrating them.
In an ideal world, we’d all be treated with
respect and compassion. Unfortunately,
A-listers make for easy targets – because of
their lifestyles, which can trigger jealousy,
and because they are often in the public eye.
But it’s important to remember they are not
immune from getting hurt and have feelings
just like the rest of us. Celebs can also end
up being psychologically damaged – now
even more so, thanks to the immediacy of
social media. Just look at One Direction's
Harry Styles – the 19-year-old broke down
after reading venomous tweets about him.
‘I had a look at what people were saying
about me,’ he says. ‘I’ve always wanted to be
one of those people who didn’t really care
that much about what people thought about
them but I just don’t think I am.’ We tend to
forget that celebs are entitled to the same
human rights and should be treated with
the same respect as others. Now is a good
a time as ever to start making that change.
it’sOK!
it’snot OK!
peopledon’tfeelsheisgenuine.‘Thepublicis
verysensitivetoperceptionsofauthenticityand
willreactstronglywhentheybelieveaperson
isshowing“falsehumility”,’shesays.Prue
Laurence,psychologistatPsylutionsagrees.
‘Anneispotentiallyseemingtoorehearsed,too
practised–itcomesacrossascontrived,’shetells
OK!.‘Thatmakesusreallyquestionhersincerity.’
Whilethelatestroundofscornisboundto
havegottentoAnne–who’sadmittedinthepast,
‘Iactuallyreallydon’tfeellikegettingmade
funof’–thestarsaysshehas
thickskinwhenitcomes
todealingwithherdetractors.
‘Iwasatapartyonceand
aFrenchgirlwalkeduptome
andsaid,“Anne,Ijustwant
youtoknowthatIhateyou…
Ihateyourface.Ihateyour
voice.EveryminutethatI’ve
seenofyouonfilmhasbeen
awasteoftime.”AndIburst
intotears,’Annesays.‘But
IwokeupthenextmorningandIrealisedthat
asmuchasI’dlovetohatethisgirlback,Ifeel
pityforher,becauseIhateNazis,Ihateracists
–andeventhen,Istillholdabitofhopefor
them–butIdon’thateactresses.’
LikeAnne,GwynethPaltrowcoppedflakfor
gushingherwaythroughherOscaracceptance
speechin1999,butwhileAnne’swillingtocut
hercriticssomeslack,Gwynnieisdefiantinthe
faceofthepublicbullying.‘F---thehaters!’she
says.‘Isawthisblogofpeoplewritinghorrible
thingsaboutmeandyouregoissowounded…
“Howcouldpeoplehateme?I’magoodperson
andI’mtryingtoputgoodthingsintotheworld.”’
TheireagainstGwynethhasbeenblamedon
everythingfromhersmugnesstoherpreaching
abouthealth,andshe’salsobeenaccusedof
snobbery.‘IlovetheEnglishlifestyle…People
don’ttalkaboutworkandmoney;theytalkabout
interestingthingsatdinner.Ilikelivinghere
becausetheBritisharemuchmorecivilised
thantheAmericans,’shesaidin2006,much
tothehorrorofherhomeland.Buttheactress
insistsshe’smisunderstood:‘Peoplemistake
metryingtobethebestversionofmyselffor
metellingthemthey’renot,ortheythink,
“Whatdoesthatmakemethen,youannoying
f---ingpersononthesoapbox?”’shesays.
Soisitjealousy?PsychologistPrueLaurence
thinksso.‘Whenpeoplefeeljealous,theyfeel“not
OK”aboutthemselvesand,tomakethemselves
feelOK,theybringothersdown,’sheexplains.
FilmcriticDavidThomsonagrees.‘Weenvy
them,’hesaysofstars.‘Wethinktheydon’t
deserveit.Wehatethe
influencetheyhaveoverus.’
DrBraunsteinsaystherise
ofsocialmediahasn’thelped
thistendencytoabusethe
A-list,either.‘Theanonymity
allowspeopletofeeltheycan
judgeanyone,’shetellsOK!.
‘Thisthenturnsintoa“herd
mentality”–whenpeoplejoin
agroupandstimulatestronger
criticism.Thegroupfeels
validatedbecauseothersareexpressingthe
sameopinions,andthisblocksinhibitory
responseswhichwouldoccurifthe
communicationwasdoneface-to-face.’
EvenTaylorSwift,whorarelysaysanything
controversial,isn’timmunefrombullies.Butthe
singerknowscriticismispartofthejob.‘When
youputyourselfoutthereforalotofpeople
tosaywhatevertheywant…there’samillion
differentopinions,’shesays.Butthe23-year-
oldadmitssomepeopletakeittoofar.‘There’s
constructivecriticism,there’sprofessional
criticism–andthenthere’sjustbeingmean.’
ButasAustralianPRexpertMaxMarkson
tellsOK!,badpublicityisstillpublicity.Infact,
sometimesitcanevenwinfans!‘Whenaceleb
fallsvictimtoahatecampaign,peoplewho
previouslydidn’tcareoftengivethemthe
sympathyvote,’hesays.‘Ifyoukeepyoursense
ofhumour,it’spossibletocomeoutontop.’
mail@okmagazine.com.au
facebook.com/okmagazineaustralia
twitter.com/okmagaustralia #tellok!
Instagram/okmagaustralia #tellok!
Tell us What you
think of ‘perfect’ celebrities
being bullied by the public?
Is it OK or not OK?
‘It makes
us really
questionher
sincerity’
ladies we love to loveThese famous females get nothing but adoration from fans!
textbyoliviao'brien
pink,33
Pink is honest…
and loves to
pig out! ‘My baby
may be part
cheesecake,’ she
admitsJennifer
Lawrence, 22
Fans love that she’s
down to earth: ‘That
doesn’t look like me,’
Jen said, on seeing her
Dior campaign.
‘I love
Photoshop’
Emma
stone, 24
Emma’s fan club
keeps growing thanks
to her humour and
humility. ‘The better
things are going, the
more terrified
I am,’ she saysJennifer
anniston, 44
She seems like
she’d be a great
friend. ‘Jen is just a
regular girl,’ says
pal Chelsea
Handler
38 www.okmagazine.com.au March 18, 2013