Anne Hathaway makes surprise move after five-movie year

Anne Hathaway has apparently decided that sometimes the best way to stay loved is to simply… disappear.

After a packed year promoting five movies—including Mother Mary, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Odyssey, The End of Oak Street and Verity—the actress joked about making her exit on Instagram by vanishing into a puff of smoke.

But according to sources speaking to Rob Shutter, there’s more thought behind Hathaway’s dramatic disappearing act than meets the eye.

“Anne knows she can annoy people,” a source elucidated. “She’s painfully aware that when she’s everywhere — promoting, talking and being relentlessly enthusiastic — people can start rolling their eyes. She learned that lesson the hardest possible way.”

That lesson has a name: “Hathahate.”

The backlash surrounding Hathaway reached its peak around her 2013 Oscar win for Les Misérables, when her polished awards-season persona became a target for intense public criticism.

Now, insiders claim Hathaway has no interest in letting history repeat itself.

“She refuses to repeat history,” an industry source shared. “Anne understands something now she didn’t then: audiences can adore you and still get exhausted by you. She would rather leave them wanting more than give them a reason to turn.”

And that explains the smoke bomb.

“The old Anne would have kept going,” the source added. “This Anne knows exactly when to leave the room.”

After five films and plenty of red carpets, Hathaway may have found the ultimate celebrity power move: leave before people start asking you to.