Don’t treat childless women as damaged goods, says Jennifer
‘Maybe my purpose on earth is NOT to procreate’
SHE has been the subject of countless pregnancy rumours and is continually asked if she will ever have children.
Now Jennifer Aniston has hit back at critics and the actress said her ‘purpose on this planet’ may not be ‘to procreate’.
The American star, 49, also said it is unfair that women who do not start a family are considered ‘damaged goods’.
Ms Aniston, who has been married and divorced twice, said it was wrong that when a couple break up the woman is ‘scorned’ and branded a ‘failure’ – while the man is not stigmatised.
She has been perpetually unlucky in love and ended her marriage to actor Justin Theroux in February after two years, though they had been in a relationship for seven. Previously, she was married to Brad Pitt but he left her for Angelina Jolie after a five-year marriage.
Speaking to InStyle magazine, Ms Aniston said she was fed up with ‘misconceptions’ about her love life.
She hates headlines that make statements such as ‘Jen can’t keep a man’, claim she was putting her career before becoming a mother or say she was ‘heartbroken’ about splitting from Mr Theroux.
She said: ‘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. No one considers how sensitive that might be for my partner and me.
‘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.’
Ms Aniston, being interviewed by US comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s wife Molly McNearney, said she was good with her friends’ children. Told she was ‘a good dog person’, Ms Aniston replied: ‘They make me happy. But so do your kids.’ Ms McNearney added: ‘You are so good with my children. When I did not have children, I liked people’s kids, but they were fun for, like, ten minutes.
‘But you are so genuinely invested in your friends’ children that the kids end up buying you Mother’s Day presents. You also have a home that kids want to go to. You have really mastered hosting families at your house.’
The Friends actress added: ‘I love those rascals.’
In the past, Ms Aniston has dated actors Paul Rudd and Vince Vaughn but neither relationship worked out. Since her split from Mr Theroux, she has reportedly been ‘very happy being single’ and is quietly dating other men. She has filmed a Netflix movie called Murder Mystery and is said to be ‘focused on her own happiness’.
In the interview, Ms Aniston said she had been harassed on sets before and described ‘sloppy moves’ made on her by other actors. She said she handled it by ‘walking away’ and that nobody in a position of power like Harvey Weinstein had ever tried to abuse her. She added: ‘In my personal experience I’ve been treated worse verbally and energetically by some women in this industry.’
Reflecting on her career, Ms Aniston also said that she had ‘definitely had my fair share of sexism in the media’.
She said: ‘Women are picked apart and pitted against one another based on looks and clothing and superficial stuff. When a couple break up in Hollywood, it’s the woman who is scorned.
‘The woman is left sad and alone. She’s the failure. F that. When was the last time you read about a divorced, childless man referred to as a spinster?’
Ms Aniston said she stayed off social media and was alarmed that ten-year-olds were on Snapchat and Instagram because it was ‘fuelling narcissism’.
She said: ‘‘People are using filters and all sorts of tools to mask who they really are … That seems like an unhealthy formula for already-insecure adolescents.’
The actress added that she ‘fantasises’ about a Friends reunion because ‘it really was the greatest job I ever had’.
‘I’ve been treated worse by women’