Anne Hathaway walks out of photoshoot in solidarity with striking staff

Hollywood star Anne Hathaway walked out of a Vanity Fair photo shoot in support of striking staff.

Around 400 union members at publisher Conde Nast took part in a 24-hour protest against the firm.

The actress, best known for roles including The Devil Wears Prada, was getting ready for the photo shoot when she was told about the strike.

A member of staff told Variety magazine: "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."

Hathaway is a prominent supporter of the Democratic Party which is generally seen as more pro-union than the Republicans.

The strike included staff at magazines from Vogue to GQ as well as Vanity Fair.

Footage posted online showed staff outside the publishers offices waving signs with slogans including "Layoffs are out of fashion".

The walkout, timed to coincide with the announcment of the Oscar nominations, comes after the firm announced it was looking to cut jobs.

Condé Nast chief executive Roger Lynch announced in November that the company will lay off more than 300 employees and take other cost-reduction measures to improve efficiency.

Last week, Condé Nast merged digital music publication Pitchfork with men’s magazine GQ.

It comes just over a month after US actors called off their long-running Hollywood strike.

That walkout by the Sag-Aftra union lasted 118 days and brought Hollywood to a standstill, halting productions on film and television shows around the world.

The Sag-Aftra strike ended on November 9 when a tentative agreement was reached between the union and the Alliance of Motion Picture and TV Producers (AMPTP).

The deal was then ratified by union members, with 78 per cent voting in favour of the new contract.