Hathaway tells EW of the 2022 clip: “I was at an ‘Elle’ event, and I felt like I was being disloyal to Nina Garcia, so I was trying to move through the question quickly!”

Anne Hathaway explains viral ‘you weren’t there’ meme reacting to reporter’s question about Anna Wintour: ‘Very uncomfortable’

Hathaway tells EW of the 2022 clip: "I was at an 'Elle' event, and I felt like I was being disloyal to Nina Garcia, so I was trying to move through the question quickly!"

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Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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April 27, 2026 4:09 p.m. ET

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Anne Hathaway at 2022 Elle Women in Hollywood event; Hathaway at 'Devil Wears Prada 2' premiere. Credit:

Amy Sussman/Getty; Taylor Hill/WireImage

- Anne Hathaway tells ** the story behind a 2022 moment that became a meme.

- Hathaway says she felt "very uncomfortable" during a red carpet interview where a journalist asked her about Anna Wintour.

- "I was at an *Elle* event, and I felt like I was being disloyal to Nina Garcia, so I was trying to move through the question quickly!" she recalls.

Whether you're at a hideous skirt convention or, say, the 2022 *Elle* Women in Hollywood event, *maybe* don't ask Anne Hathaway about her private conversations with former *Vogue* head and *Devil Wears Prada* inspiration, Anna Wintour.

In a new interview with ** ahead of Friday's release of *The Devil Wears Prada 2*, Hathaway looks back on a widely meme'd moment from the 2022 red carpet gala. The fan-favorite exchange saw the Oscar-winning actress laugh as she shut down a reporter's inquiry about whether she has spoken to Wintour about the 2006 blockbuster comedy, which was inspired by writer Lauren Weisberger's time working under the fashion icon at *Vogue*.

"It's not my finest moment," Hathaway admits to EW of the clip, which was first published to *Elle'*s TikTok but later deleted. "I felt very uncomfortable because, first of all, I was at an *Elle* event, and I felt like I was being disloyal to [*Elle* head] Nina Garcia, so I was trying to move through the question quickly."

She continues, recalling that "the journalist doubled back on it," which made her feel "doubly uncomfortable, because I felt it was maybe a little opportunistic to ask me about Anna Wintour because you know it's going to go viral because of *Devil Wears Prada*. I shut the question down, and upon reflection, maybe did it a little bit too harshly!"

Hathaway says "it was definitely not my finest moment," and has allowed her to "maybe take a look again" at her approach to answering questions in a high-pressure moment.

"Maybe even set a boundary without an electric fence. Maybe we can work on that, Hathaway!" she says, chuckling at the past moment.

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At the time, some criticized Hathaway's response, but others celebrated it as an example of a star setting a boundary. It has since become a widely circulated meme, with reposts of the since-deleted original gaining tens of thousands of likes each time it resurfaces across social media platforms.

In her interview with EW, Hathaway elaborates on another past moment with Wintour. In response to a question about sitting next to Wintour at a 2022 fashion show in an outfit many felt looked like one of her original ensembles from *The* *Devil Wears Prada, *Hathaway maintains that her choice of clothing was a "total fluke" in the moment.

"What happened was, I was supposed to wear something completely different, very orange, kind of like if a cheerleader did streetwear, but the shoes didn't look right with it," she continues. "I thought, *I'm going to a fashion show, people really expect that kind of coordination*. I said, 'What's the other choice?' The other choice was a brown leather jacket with a brown skirt and the turtleneck."

Anne Hathaway and Anna Wintour; Hathaway in 'Devil Wears Prada 2'.

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty; Macall Polay/20th Century Studios.

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The actress remembers that she'd "just gotten my bangs cut" and put her hair up in a ponytail.

"I looked in a mirror, and I thought, that's funny, I think I look like Andy Sachs right now, I wonder if anyone will notice?" says Hathaway. "That's the thing, I show up, and who am I sat next to, but Anna! I was like, I think something's happening right now, but it was completely accidental, totally unplanned, but perhaps part of the reason why we're here [with the sequel]!"

*The Devil Wears Prada 2* is in theaters on Friday.

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