Conde Nast, like many print media companies, is doing a huge round of layoffs. Just last week, Conde Nast announced that they were folding Pitchfork into GQ and firing most of Pitchfork’s music-journalists and critics. There have been layoffs at other Conde Nast titles, so much so that the Conde Nast Union staged a walk out on Tuesday to highlight the mismanagement and shoddy treatment of executives. Also happening on Tuesday: Anne Hathaway flew into New York for a Vanity Fair photoshoot. She was in hair-and-makeup when she was told about the walk out. She walked out of the photoshoot in a little sympathy strike of her own.

Anne Hathaway walked out of a Vanity Fair photo shoot Tuesday morning in support of the Condé Nast Union walk out.

Nearly 400 union members who work at Condé Nast are currently holding a 24-hour work stoppage to protest negotiation practices they claim are unlawful.

Hathaway was unaware of the work stoppage when she arrived at the New York City photo shoot. She was still in hair and makeup when her team was notified by a staffer from SAG-AFTRA to advise Hathaway to support the work stoppage.

“They hadn’t even started taking photos yet,” a source tells Variety. “Once Anne was made aware of what was going on, she just got up from hair and makeup and left.”

The work stoppage coincided with the announcement of the 2024 Oscar nominations, which took place Tuesday morning at 8:30 a.m. ET. Employees at Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, Allure, Condé Nast Entertainment, Architectural Digest, Glamour, Self, Teen Vogue and other Condé Nast publications walked to hold a rally in front of the company’s offices in New York.

Videos posted to the union’s X/Twitter show protesters holding signs that read, “Layoffs are out of fashion.” They can also be chanting, “Say it loud, say it clear, winter’s extra cold this year,” an obvious play on Anna Wintour’s name.

[From Variety]

You might say that Anne is rich and famous and she can do this because she won’t suffer any backlash, but I totally believe she’ll face backlash. Please, Anna Wintour will devise many punishments for Anne’s insubordination. No more Vogue coverage, no more Vanity Fair covers, no more front rows at Valentino. It will be interesting to see if Wintour actually goes through with it long-term. Also: Anne’s people managed to get “her team was notified by a staffer from SAG-AFTRA to advise Hathaway to support the work stoppage” placed in the Variety piece. Anne was only acting on advice from her union!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.