Having made her debut as Rachel Green in Friends over two decades ago, Jennifer Aniston has since gone pro at fielding public opinion and scrutiny. According to Aniston, one of the most common misconceptions about her is that she “can’t keep a man,” and her comeback to tabloids who love to run that headline is incredible.
In her September cover interview for InStyle, Aniston talked to friend and writer Molly McNearney. When McNearney asked Aniston what she thought the biggest misconception about herself is, Aniston listed off a few of the go-to themes celebrity magazines like to dwell on.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Aniston told McNearney. “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.”
As bothersome as these rumors may be to her, Aniston realizes that her relationships and lifestyle choices are no one’s business but her own.
“First, with all due respect, I’m not heartbroken,” she said. “And second, those are reckless assumptions. No one knows what’s going on behind closed doors. No one considers how sensitive that might be for my partner and me.”
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Aniston continued on the topic of pregnancy, “They don’t know what I’ve been through medically or emotionally. 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?”
Yes, Jen. Yes!
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Later in the interview, Aniston noted how women in the industry are often brutally picked apart by the media. She said, “When a couple breaks up in Hollywood, it’s the woman who is scorned. The woman is left sad and alone. She’s the failure. F that.”
Aniston hopes that the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements will encourage people in all industries and facets of society to listen to one another and hear all sides of a story. She then quoted Michelle Obama when the former first lady stated, “When they go low, we go high.”
With her rebuttals and ability to brush off the tabloid-constructed drama, Aniston is definitely living by that motto (and remains one of our fave female role models).