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Over the weekend, Anne Hathaway announced that she’s pregnant with her third child.
Obviously, that’s joyous news, and many were quick to congratulate the beloved actress and her husband of 14 years, Adam Shulman.
But in an unexpected and very unwelcome twist, some terminally online cretins rushed to shame Anne for getting pregnant at the age of 43.
“Can we not normalize having kids at 40? My parents had me at 40 and my Oma will never know the adult version of me,” wrote one user.
“Having kids in your 40s is great because they come out all weird and autistic AND you’re practically in a nursing home by the time they hit any major life milestones,” another added.
As you can see, some accounts engaged in behavior known as “concern trolling,” feigning genuine consideration for Anne and her family.
Others just spotted an opportunity to be cruel and didn’t want to let it go to waste. Sadly, such behavior is quite common on social media.
The backlash is particularly vile as Anne has spoken about her fertility issues and miscarriages in the past.
Partially as a result of these issues, she began having children later than expected at the age of 33.
And when she became a mom, she dedicated herself to it completely. Anne got sober so that she could devote all of her time and energy to her kids. By all accounts, she’s a fantastic mom.
Of course, this discourse has less to do with Anne than with the never-ending culture wars being waged across the social media landscape.
The people who are angry that she’s having a third child aren’t really worried about what Anne’s relationship with her kid will look like in 30 years. More likely, they’re angry about whom she might have voted for in 2024.
The experience of an adult child wishing their parents had had them at an earlier age is rare to the point of being nearly non-existent — and the haters likely know that. But that’s not gonna stop them from ranting and raving about the personal choices of someone they’ll never meet.
And while we don’t want to get too morbid on a Monday morning, let’s not forget that none of us is guaranteed tomorrow, and having kids at an early age does not necessarily mean you’ll be there when they get married and have kids of their own.
Yes, folks, we’re all gonna check out at some point.
And while there’s not much to be gained by dwelling on that fact too often, it might be good to occasionally pause and reflect on the fact that there’s no greater waste of our short time on this planet than being cruel to other people for no reason.
Anyway! We’d like to offer our sincere congratulations to Anne and Adam. We’re sure they’ll continue to be excellent parents.