Anne Hathaway walks out of Vanity Fair magazine photo shoot

Anne Hathaway abruptly walked out of a Vanity Fair photo shoot today after being informed of some big breaking news.

Anne Hathaway has abandoned her photo shoot with Vanity Fair in solidarity with the Conde Nast Union walk out. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for National Board of Review

Anne Hathaway has walked off the set of a magazine photo shoot while in the middle of getting her hair and makeup done.

The Oscar-winning actress, 41, was set to pose for a Vanity Fair spread at the magazine’s headquarters in New York on Tuesday, local time, when she was informed of the imminent Condé Nast Union walk out.

Around 400 members employed with Condé Nast brands – which include the likes of Vanity Fair, Vogue and GQ – signalled a 24-hour work halt after the publishing company began laying off 5 per cent of staff.

When a SAG-AFTRA staffer told Hathaway of the stoppage, which saw hundreds of staff rally outside the One World Trade Centre offices Tuesday, the Princess Diaries star abandoned her scheduled shoot and walked out alongside staff, Variety reports.

“They hadn’t even started taking photos yet,” a source told the publication.

“Once Anne was made aware of what was going on, she just got up from hair and makeup and left.”

US actress Anne Hathaway has walked off set of her Vanity Fair photo shoot in solidarity with union members. Picture: Loic Venance/AFP

Hathaway has been praised for her support of workers on social media, with fans comparing her stance to that of her character in cult classic The Devil Wears Prada, in which she plays a journalist, Andie, who bails on a dream, yet all-consuming, magazine job:

anne hathaway i was NOT familiar with your game!!!!!!!!!!!!!! then again i should have known..............one of the clips andie brings with her when she's interviewing at runway is about the janitors' union, after all 🙂 pic.twitter.com/bzwdywsbKd

— conde walkout 1/23, don’t cross the picket line! (@EmmaSpecter) January 23, 2024

Actual clip of Anne Hathaway walking out on a photoshoot in support of the Condé Nast Union walk out: https://t.co/so1xoIVa3upic.twitter.com/ifcG2cS0q3

— Sophie Krichevsky (she/her/hers) (@skrichev13) January 23, 2024

Anne Hathaway walking out of Vanity Fair photo shoot in solidarity with Condé Nast Union work stoppage: pic.twitter.com/1QPToGOu7Q

— Joe Reid (@joereid) January 23, 2024

workers union ally anne hathaway!!! pic.twitter.com/7aNCY7lfZq

— george griffiths (@georgegriffiths) January 23, 2024

anne hathaway walking out of the vanity fair shoot with full glam pic.twitter.com/UTJU7dpSwm

— Carrie Wittmer 👻 (@carriesnotscary) January 23, 2024

In unfortunate timing for Condé Nast publications, the walkout coincided with the unveiling of the 96th annual Academy Awards nominations, a key news story for most media sites.

The NewsGuild of New York – the union representing Condé Nast workers – said staff was campaigning against the company’s “unlawful bargaining tactics during lay-off negotiations”.

Unionised staff at Conde Nast walk the picket line during a 24 hour walk out amid lay-off announcement in front of the One World Trade Center in New York. Picture: Angela Weiss/AFP

Lay-offs at the company were first announced by Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch in November.

NewsGuild quickly filed an unfair labour practice charge, claiming the company had violated labour laws by significantly reducing employees’ lay-off benefits.

Changes officially began last week when several staff members at digital music website Pitchfork were let go, with Condé Nast deciding to close the publication and fold it into its men’s magazine, GQ.

Chief content officer Anna Wintour sent a memo to staff members at the time, writing, “Today we are evolving our Pitchfork team structure by bringing the team into the GQ organization (sic). This decision was made after a careful evaluation of Pitchfork’s performance and what we believe is the best path forward for the brand so that our coverage of music can continue to thrive within the company.”

Originally published as Anne Hathaway walks out of Vanity Fair magazine photo shoot