Anderson Cooper defends Anne Hathaway: I don't understand the hatred

Anne Hathaway married her knight in shining armor -- Adam Shulman -- last September, but Anderson Cooper is keen on defending the Oscar-winning star's honor as well. On his show Thursday, the "Anderson Live" host marveled at the vitriol leveled towards the "Les Miserables" star, 30, for her mode of acceptance speeches, her last-minute Academy Awards dress switch and other matters.

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"In our morning meeting today, we were talking about this and the level of hatred people have towards Anne Hathaway; I had no idea. She seems like a perfectly lovely person," Cooper mused of the Best Supporting Actress victor. "I don't understand. She's incredibly talented, she seems like a lovely person, I think she's been through a lot. People have all these judgments about her; they don't know what she's really like ... It upset me."

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When a co-host sniped that Hathaway's Oscar speech was "terrible," Cooper argued back, "She got up there, she made eye contact, she remembered people's names without reading it. I mean, give her a break."

He continued of the star, who took the extra step of later explaining why she ditched her Valentino gown for a Prada creation on Oscar Sunday, "the amount of pressure she must feel knowing all these people hate her -- give her a break; she seems like a lovely young person. Again, people form all these opinions on people based on nothing. You have no actual evidence."

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Cooper clarified, "I've got no dog in this hunt. I don't know Anne Hathaway. It just seems so completely unfair to me. I had no idea this whole hatred existed, I feel like I've just woken up and realized the entire universe is attacking her and I feel bad for her and I am defending her."

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