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Anne Hathaway has played down recent claims that she openly questioned the use of 'alarmingly thin' models on the set of her new film, The Devil Wears Prada 2.
Hollywood stars Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci have reprised their respective roles in director David Frankel's much anticipated sequel to his 2006 satire about the inner-workings of the fashion industry.
Streep has since claimed her co-star urged producers to be 'size-inclusive' in their hiring of background artists instead of relying on extremely thin women to play the film's array of models.
Discussing the furore on Tuesday, Hathaway, 43, claimed the incident had been blown out of proportion and insisted the narrative currently unfolding across social media - that she demanded some of the background cast be fired - is wide of the mark.
'It was just this kind of quick thing that happened on set and now it’s become a much bigger story,' she told Good Morning America.
'I do want to mention there’s a little misinformation getting out there right now that people were fired because of the size inclusivity and that just didn’t happen.'
Anne Hathaway has played down recent claims that she openly questioned the use of 'alarmingly thin' models on the set of her new film, The Devil Wears Prada 2
The new film goes on general release across the United States and United Kingdom from May 1, and Hathaway revealed the incident related to a specific scene that she's forbidden from discussing.
She added: 'Nobody lost their jobs, in fact, it created more jobs… it’s so hard because I can’t say what the scene is about, but there’s a song that Lady Gaga wrote and it’s a beautiful, amazing song. Isn’t it better when you see so many different types of bodies up there with that?'
Streep previously said she was ‘struck’ by the appearance of the runway models on set, saying they looked ‘not only beautiful and young… but alarmingly thin,' during an interview for Hathaway's Harper's Bazaar cover.
‘Annie clocked it too,’ she added, revealing that Hathaway quickly stepped in behind the scenes.
According to Streep, the actress ‘made a beeline’ to producers and secured assurances that models featured in the film’s fashion show ‘would not be so skeletal.’
‘She’s a stand-up girl,’ Streep said, praising her co-star’s intervention.
Streep also revealed filming for the sequel was far from smooth, with scenes frequently disrupted by swarms of excited fans and paparazzi.
Despite being aware of the original film’s legacy, the Oscar winner admitted she was unprepared for the scale of the reaction more than two decades on.
‘We needed police barriers and crowd control,’ she said, describing how buses full of fans descended on set during filming.
The chaos even spilled into production, with Streep recalling how paparazzi ‘kept jumping in front of the camera’ and sparked a ‘kerfuffle’ with crew members.
'Annie kept her cool, but I was unnerved,' Streep added.
Hathaway, Meryl Streep, and Stanley Tucci have reprised their respective roles in director David Frankel's sequel to his 2006 satire about the inner-workings of the fashion industry
The studio behind The Devil Wears Prada 2 is facing mounting criticism across the far East for relying on perceived cultural stereotypes in its portrayal of an Asian character
Meanwhile, the studio behind The Devil Wears Prada 2 is facing mounting criticism across the far East for relying on perceived cultural stereotypes in its portrayal of an Asian character.
Cinema-goers have expressed dismay with distributor 20th Century Studios over its handling of new character Jin Chao, an enthusiastic Asian intern played by Helen J Shen.
An initial trailer featuring Chao sparked immediate concern among east-Asian viewers, notably because of the connotations attached to her name, and the character's portrayal as a highly educated and numerically gifted nerd.
It's understood that a faction of social media users believe the name bears a phonetic similarity to Ching Chong - a racist term used to denigrate Chinese immigrant workers based in western countries during the 19th century.
According to Hong Kong’s Oriental Daily News, her name is “a symbolic racist slur” that suggests “contempt and discomfort towards Chinese accents and intonation”.
The character's clothing, demeanour, work ethic and various educational qualifications have also been cited as cultural cliches that convey 'blatant racism' towards east Asians.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is released on April 30 in China and May 1 across the United States and United Kingdom.
English (US) ·