Anne Hathaway admits hosting Oscars with James Franco in 2011 didn't go well: 'We sucked'

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Anne Hathaway knew she was signing up for a gig that would be criticized no matter who watched when she agreed to hosting the 83rd annual Academy Awards in 2011.

During an appearance on "Watch What Happens Live" with Andy Cohen Monday, the 39-year-old actress played a game where she had to give a one-word reply on pictures from her past.

When Cohen showed Hathaway a photo of "The Princess Diaries" star on stage with James Franco, she quickly responded, "We sucked."

The audience erupted in laughter, including "WWHL" guest Victoria Beckham, Cohen and Hathaway. 

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Anne Hathaway admitted her Oscars hosting gig with James Franco "sucked" as she chatted with Andy Cohen on Monday. (Kevin Winter)

Critics vocally panned the pair who seemed to have little chemistry on stage as Hathaway gave her all, while Franco appeared to be detached all together.

Hathaway previously told People magazine that Franco urged her to co-host the show with him despite her initial reservations.

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"Hey, can I dish some tea? I turned that gig down and James is the one that convinced me to do it," she said in 2019.

"When all the dust settled, I was just like, 'You gotta be kidding me. Your first instinct is usually the right one.' And all the reasons why I turned it down came true." 

James Franco and Anne Hathaway were panned for their hosting skills at the 2011 Oscars.  (Bob D'Amico)

James Franco had to convince Anne Hathaway to take the job as a host of the 83rd annual Academy Awards in 2011. (Gabriel Bouys/AFP)

She added, "All of them. It's just a no-win situation. You're not trained at this, how is this going to enhance your life? All of the reasons why. Even the people who do it spectacularly well — like Hugh Jackman, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen DeGeneres — usually just get a 'meh' from everyone. It's a really hard gig to stick the landing on."

Several writers who worked on the show reminisced on the unique pairing, which was aimed to bring in younger viewers.

"It was like the world's most uncomfortable blind date between the cool rocker stoner kid and the adorable theater camp cheerleader," David Wild told The Ringer in 2021.

Franco, who recently stirred controversy after he was cast as Fidel Castro — one of his first acting roles since he was sued for sexual misconduct in 2019, has also briefly commented on the co-hosting gig. In 2016, he said "it was an experiment."

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Meanwhile, although Anne apologized for her on-stage antics from more than a decade ago, she was also saying sorry to "The Devil Wears Prada" fans on Monday.

"Do you agree with fans that Nate was the true villain of ‘The Devil Wears Prada?’" one fan asked of Adrian Grenier's character, who played her boyfriend, in the movie.

"Yes! He was!" Cohen heartedly agreed.

Anne Hathaway and Adrian Grenier starred on "The Devil Wears Prada" in 2006. They've both discussed fans claims of his subtle villain role in the movie. (L. Cohen)

"Andy's answered for me," Hathaway said jokingly before admitting she disagreed. "No, I'm sorry, I don't. I think that they were both very young, and figuring things out."

Hathaway's character, Andy Sachs, attempted to navigate life while working as an assistant to the demanding editor-in-chief of Runway magazine, Miranda Priestly, portrayed by Meryl Streep. Due to her grueling schedule, Andy finds she has no time for Nate or her friends, but ultimately Andy chooses a job she's happy with in the journalism industry and leaves her bad boss (and bad relationship) behind.

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"He did behave like a brat, but I also behaved like a brat in my 20s and I hopefully grew out of it," she told Cohen. "I think that that's what we all do. And I wouldn't want to be defined by my worst moment in my 20s, certainly, so I don't hold Nate as a villain, actually."

The star-studded cast from the 2006 movie included Stanley Tucci, Meryl Streep, Adrian Grenier, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Daniel Sunjata  (Michael Loccisano/FilmMagic)

Grenier told Entertainment Weekly last year during a "The Devil Wears Prada" reunion interview that he understood how fans could be upset with Nate's behavior toward Andy.

"I didn't see some of the subtleties and the nuance of this character and what it represented in the film until the wisdom of the masses came online and started to push against the character and throw him under the bus, and I got flak," he said.

"All those memes that came out were shocking to me. It hadn't occurred to me until I started to really think about it ... in many ways, he's very selfish and self-involved, it was all about him; he wasn't extending himself to support Andy in her career."

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