A fierce debate has broken out online after a clip of Anne Hathaway greeting fans in Italy went viral.

The A-list actress, 41, is wearing a glittering fuschia dress in the clip, filmed last summer after the Valentino fashion show, as she leaves her car while crowds cheer her name and ask for selfies.

Noting that there are far too many people lining the streets to stop and take photographs with them all, Anne instead stands patiently and gives them the chance to take pictures of her stood alone, waving and smiling.

She even tries her hand at speaking Italian in the clip in the recently resurfaced TikTok clip, telling fans: ‘I cannot take photos with everyone as there’s too many of you but I will stand here and wave if you would like to take a photo.

‘Mi dispiace [I’m sorry] but I want you to have something so if you’d like I’ll just wave a little bit.’

A fierce debate has broken out online after a clip of Anne Hathaway greeting fans in Italy went viral, with fans arguing whether or not she was being rude

Anne continued: ‘Thank you for understanding. Thank you for waiting.’

As one eager fan continued to press for a selfie, Anne added: ‘I cannot [get a photo] with you because then I have to get a photo with everyone – it’s too many, but thank you so much.’

The Princess Diaries actress then giggled while thanking everybody for their patience, before uttering a string of sentences in Italian.

As the clip also circulated on X, formerly Twitter, fans debated over whether she was being polite or rude to her fans, arguing: ‘Very polite. Celebrities are not obligated to engage with fans’; ‘I will never understand how sheepish people are with celebs. Stop idolizing them, they are just people.

‘I feel like she handled that well, especially if it was in-the-moment.’; ‘Absolutely not she’s being fair and personally I can respect her for what she said.’; ‘Rude and fake polite at the same time’;

‘Absolutely. Very gracious.’; ‘With how long she took to he condescending, she could possibly have signed and took the photos. She was being unnecessary.’; ‘I think she’s being what she is – an unlikeable narcissist.

‘She is extremely polite and setting up boundaries. I can respect that. And that’s the best way to control the situation.’; ‘Very polite; she has no obligation to even hold for a photo. I know people are excited, but they also need to be mindful that celebrities are people too with personal lives. Like she said, there are too many, and she couldn’t possibly pose or sign for all.

‘Is ‘condescending’ an option?’; ‘She isn’t very gracious to her fans. In reality she is probably repulsed by them. What does she have to do that is so important that she couldn’t take 20 selfies with her fans?’

Noting that there are far too many people lining the streets to stop and take photographs with them all, Anne instead stands patiently and gives them the chance to take pictures of her alone

As the clip also circulated on X, formerly Twitter, fans debated over whether she was being polite or rude to her fans

The A-list actress, 41, was wearing a glittering fuschia dress in the clip, filmed last summer after the Valentino fashion show (pictured earlier in the evening)

The clip has gone viral after Anne hit the headlines this week for walking out of a Vanity Fair photoshoot.

The Oscar winner was ‘in hair and make-up’ when her team ‘was notified by a staffer from SAG-AFTRA about the Condé Nast Union walk out.

According to Variety, Anne was said to be unaware of the work stoppage when she originally arrived at the New York City shoot.

A source told the publication: ‘They hadn’t even started taking photos yet. Once Anne was made aware of what was going on, she just got up from hair and makeup and left.’

Hundreds of unionised staffers at Condé Nast, the parent company behind legacy publications including Vogue and Vanity Fair, walked out Tuesday in protest of looming layoffs.

As part of the NewsGuild action, 400 employees walked off the job on the news-heavy day, which saw the announcement of Academy Award nominations and voting in a presidential primary.

The union urged people not to cross the digital picket line by refraining from visiting Conde Nast sites, which also include GQ, Bon Appetit, Glamour, Architectural Digest and Teen Vogue.

The union action comes after the company’s CEO Roger Lynch said last fall it would lay off five percent of the total staff – about 300 employees.

The clip has gone viral after Anne hit the headlines this week for walking out of a Vanity Fair photoshoot in support for the Condé Nast Union walk out (pictured in 2021)