Anne Hathaway is having a big year with a total of five films coming out in 2026. She is also pregnant with her third child and has turned every red carpet appearance into a small fashion event. At the premiere of her recent film, she wore a custom Atelier Prabal Gurung halter top in ice blue, with a hidden flash of crimson and a train that trailed behind her. She paired it with low-slung, non-maternity jeans from La Ligne. The top was cut to leave her bare stomach on full display.

It should have been a straightforward pregnancy style moment. Instead, it turned into a debate.

The internet had a lot to say, and not all of it was kind. Some comments picked at the styling itself. “The bump itself is fine, but the jeans being pulled that low makes the whole silhouette look a bit strange,” one person wrote on X. Others went further, questioning the pregnancy altogether. “That isn’t a REAL belly bump,” read one post. Another compared it to a costume prop: “Nothing screams real pregnancy like a bump so perfectly round and photo ready it looks straight off the Amazon ‘silicone baby bump 6-8 months’ listing. Hollywood’s props department really outdid themselves this time.”

Then there were the comments that were less about the bump and more about the fact that it was visible at all. “Why, why is it necessary to show her stomach? We know she’s pregnant, so what?” asked one user. Another wrote, “I’m trying hard to understand this picture. Why flaunting your baby bump?? Like in this manner???”

Hathaway did not respond directly to the criticism. She posted a video of herself getting ready for the premiere and moved on. However, this kind of reaction says something worth pondering upon: Pregnant women in fashion are still not allowed to just get dressed. They are either hiding too much or showing too much. There is rarely a version that is deemed as simply normal.

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That shift did not stay confined to Hollywood. In India, several actresses have also taken a similar approach. Kareena Kapoor Khan wore fitted, body-conscious outfits through both her pregnancies and was open about refusing to hide behind loose kaftans. Sonam Kapoor stepped out during her pregnancy in fashion-forward pieces rather than the traditional loose Indian wear. Kiara Advani has also worn bump-hugging outfits post-pregnancy announcements, treating maternity dressing as an extension of her regular red carpet style. In fact, she also walked the MET gala red carpet in a corset gown.

So the idea of a visible, styled bump is not new. What is new is how loudly people are still reacting to it, years after Rihanna supposedly broke the ceiling.

And when the styling complaints run out, the conversation slides into something stranger – accusing the bump of being fake. This is not really about fashion criticism anymore. It is discomfort with a pregnant body being presented as fashionable and photographed like any other red carpet look.

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Fashion likes to say it has moved past outdated ideas about how pregnant women should dress. The tent dresses and the oversized cardigans have mostly disappeared from red carpets but the reaction to Hathaway’s recent looks suggests the discomfort did not disappear with them – it just found a new place to hide. Rihanna gave pregnancy style a new vocabulary. Kareena Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, and Kiara Advani have all added to it in their own ways. Hathaway is simply the latest to use it. The clothes have changed. The commentary, it seems, has some catching up to do!