Anne Hathaway has revealed that she personally lobbied for greater body diversity on set The Devil Wears Prada 2, and that manufacturers moved to it almost immediately.
In a speech at the film’s premiere in New York, the 43-year-old said Canada’s Etalk that she noticed a lack of size diversity among the models used and felt compelled to speak up.
“I had seen that there were a lot of traditional-sized models in our film and I just know that this film is for everyone,” she said.
“We’ve also known in the last few years that the fashion industry can take a more inclusive approach to beauty standards, and I think we’re all a little happier when it’s like that, when everyone feels included.”
She went straight to the producers.
“I just went up to the producers and said, ‘Hey, do you think we could?’ And they looked up and they said, ‘We’re so embarrassed we didn’t notice, and of course.’ And within two hours there were suddenly more girls there. It made me happy.”
This is not the first time that Hathaway’s intervention on the set has come to light.
Meryl Streep, 76, had already spoken about the moment in a Harper’s Bazaar interview in March, where she praised her co-star’s directness.
“Annie clocked it too and she made a quick note to the producers about it and secured promises that the models in the show that we were putting together for our film wouldn’t be so skeletal!” Streep said, adding simply, “She’s a stand-up girl.”
The The Devil Wears Prada 2which pits Streep’s Miranda Priestly against Blunt’s character, now a powerful executive with advertising money Priestly desperately needs, opens in theaters on May 1.
