Publications
Partners
Cape Town – In her first major interview since divorcing ex-husband Justin Theroux, Jennifer Aniston is opening up about how she deals with the tabloids.
The cover star for InStyle magazine’s September issue sat down with friend of 6 years and Jimmy Kimmel Live!'s co-head writer Molly McNearney.
Getting straight into it, Molly mocks ridiculous tabloid headlines that have attempted to tell Jennifer’s life story over the years.
Laughing it off, Jen reveals how she deals with fake news “in my own personal space.”
“For the most part I can sit back and laugh at the ridiculous headlines because they have gotten more and more absurd. I guess they’re feeding into some sort of need the public has, but I focus on my work, my friends, my animals, and how we can make the world a better place. That other stuff is junk food that needs to go back in its drawer.”
Sharing what the biggest misconception of herself is, Jen tells Molly: “The misconceptions are ‘Jen can’t keep a man,’ and ‘Jen refuses to have a baby because she’s selfish and committed to her career.’ Or that I’m sad and heartbroken…”
The 49-year-old then once again set the record straight, saying: “First, with all due respect, I’m not heartbroken. And second, those are reckless assumptions. No one knows what’s going on behind closed doors.”
Jennifer has for years made headlines because she does not have children. In an interview with Allure in 2014 the Friends actress said: “I don't like the pressure that people put on me, on women - that you've failed yourself as a female because you haven't procreated. I don't think it's fair.”
READ MORE: Jennifer Aniston talks to Allure magazine about the pressures of having children
And she reiterated her feelings to Molly, saying: “There is a pressure on women to be mothers, and if they are not, then they’re deemed damaged goods. Maybe my purpose on this planet isn’t to procreate. Maybe I have other things I’m supposed to do?”
When asked if she has ever been sexually harassed in the work place, Jennifer reveals that while actors have made sloppy moves on her, “in my personal experience I’ve been treated worse verbally and energetically by some women in this industry.”
In saying that, Jennifer agrees that change as a result of Time’s Up and #MeToo movements is “long overdue.”
Speaking about sexism Jen believes that it is still a massive issue in the media.
“Women are picked apart and pitted against one another based on looks and clothing and superficial stuff… When was the last time you read about a divorced, childless man referred to as a spinster?”
In 2015, the Horrible Bosses star told the New York Times newspaper: "We're very much a sexist society. Women are still not paid as much as men. I've been up against that in negotiations myself.”
