Anne Hathaway has said the backlash she received after winning an Oscar was “a really good thing”.

The actress had previously spoken to the hate she received after sweeping awards season for her performance as Fantine in Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables, and recently noted the positives in a new interview.

• Read more: Anne Hathaway stages a heist in trailer for Stephen Knight’s COVID comedy ‘Locked Down’

“I really don’t want to dredge up the past but I did have my monster out there, I did have the internet turn on me and hate me and it was like a whole big thing,” Hathaway told The Sun.

“And it was a really good thing for me personally. You can be incredibly empowered because of those things. So I guess what I’d say is when the bad shit happens, don’t fear it — just go with it, flow with it.”

Anne Hathaway most recently starred in Robert Zemeckis’ live-action remake of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, and appeared alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor in Locked Down, a pandemic-based heist comedy.

Talking to PEOPLE about making the new film, Hathaway said: “The sheer act of making it, of doing something so collaborative and audacious made us all very focused and open — and strangely free.

“Like the odds were so against us anyway that it made me want to lean into the exhilaration and take risks with my performance.”

She added: “It was scary taking my mask off every day, and so I really appreciated how committed the crew was to keeping their masks on — even when we were shooting in hot rooms and they were carrying heavy camera and lighting equipment they were always, always masked.