Anne Hathaway discusses Hollywood's 'shifting' attitude about weight

Aug. 13 (UPI) -- Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway is discussing Hollywood's "shifting" attitude about weight.

The 36-year-old actress discussed the topic in the September issue of Allure.

Hathaway agreed to gain 20 pounds to play Elena McMahon in the new Netflix movie The Last Thing He Wanted. She said the experience was a stark contrast to her being told to lose weight for a role at age 16.

"At 16 years old, it was 'Congratulations, you have the part. I'm not saying you need to lose weight. I'm just saying don't gain weight.' Which of course means you need to lose weight," Hathaway recalled.

"So I had that, then 20 years later I have Ane Crabtree [costume designer for The Last Thing He Wanted] asking me what my body does on the moon -- which I realized meant my period -- so she can make adjustments for me," she said. "It was just this beautiful thing."

Hathaway sees more body inclusivity in Hollywood today but said that thin bodies remain the expectation.

"I am cautious in my praise of how Hollywood is shifting. There is so much more body inclusivity -- which is great! -- but the thin thing is definitely still the centralized 'normal' expectation," she said.

Hathaway preemptively addressed critics in an Instagram post in April 2018 after gaining weight for The Last Thing He Wanted.

"I am gaining weight for a movie role and it is going well. To all the people who are going to fat shame me in the upcoming months, it's not me, it's you," she wrote.

Hathaway confirmed in July she's pregnant with her second child. She is already parent to 2-year-old son Jonathan, and said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in June that she loved her Ocean 8 co-star Rihanna's response to her post-baby body on set.

"After I had my son, the weight was really slow to come off and so I was a different size than I normally am," Hathaway recalled. "Rihanna looks up and goes, 'Damn girl, you got an [expletive]!' And of course I freaked out and loved it so much."