Jennifer Aniston has set the record straight when it comes to motherhood and her career.
In an interview with the The Hollywood Reporter she addressed assumptions that she’s chosen a ‘career over kids’.
‘It’s like, “You have no clue what’s going [on] with me personally, medically, why I can’t … can I have kids?”’, she said, referring to people who speculate about her life.
The Morning Show star went on to mimic those who have had something to say about her becoming a mother.
‘Am I still having twins? Am I going to be the miracle mother at 52?’ she said rhetorically, while recalling the rumours she’s been made aware of. ‘I don’t know why there’s such a cruel streak in society.’
The 52-year-old also highlighted the unfair stigma, or ‘deep sh*t’, she has had to deal with over the years due to not having children compared to others.
Aniston, who recently accepted the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award as one of The Hollywood Reporter’s 100 most powerful women in entertainment, said: ‘Dolly Parton never had kids. But are people giving her sh*t for it? No, no one’s tried to put her in a white picket fence.’
The Emmy-winning actor, who was previously married to Justin Theroux and before that Brad Pitt, recently said on the Lunch With Bruce podcast, ‘I think I’m ready to share myself with another’, and also referred to the the double standard when it comes to expectations of men and women.
‘Men can be married as many times as they want to, they can marry [younger] women in their 20s or 30s. Women aren’t allowed to do that,’ she said.
Aniston also touched on self-doubt and feeling unfulfilled at times in her career, noting: ‘I was the girl next door, the damsel in distress, the brokenhearted — your traditional rom-com themes.
And at a certain point, it was like, “Can’t we do something else? Am I just on this part of the cereal aisle? Like, will I ever get to be a bountiful Kashi or some sort of oatmeal, or am I going to be Fruit Loops forever?”‘ she said, recalling how she felt when being cast in some of her former roles.
‘And then you start to doubt yourself. “Maybe I can’t? Maybe there’s a reason that no one [is giving me these opportunities]?”‘
Aniston, who is also the founder of haircare line Lolavie, has said that specific actors are known for playing ‘fancy dramatic roles’, before adding: ‘I’d love to be part of that club.’
As for her approach to dealing with speculation about her life, specifically pregnancy rumours, the star said: ‘So, you disappear as much as you can, you have fun, you take on these weird roles, you don’t give a sh*t, you enjoy yourself, you remember that you have a gorgeous group of friends and your life is blessed and you do the best that you can.’
Back in 2016, Aniston, who was then still married to Theroux, responded to pregnancy rumours via a blog post for the Huffington Post, where she wrote: ‘For the record, I am not pregnant. What I am is fed up. I’m fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body shaming that occurs daily.
‘The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing. We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child. We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies.
‘Yes, I may become a mother some day, and since I’m laying it all out there, if I ever do, I will be the first to let you know.
Well said, Aniston.
