Earlier this week, Harper’s Bazaar released their photo shoot and cover profile of their September cover girl, Jennifer Aniston. As many of you mentioned, at least Aniston wasn’t half-naked in the shoot – instead, the whole thing was done as an “homage” to Barbra Streisand. It would have been cool, I think, if the whole thing was just about showing Barbra respect, but throughout the interview, it really seemed like Jennifer was forcing the comparison to Barbra, a groundbreaking actress, singer, director and producer who achieved the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony) early in her career – and Barbra is actually in a class of her own, even amongst the EGOTen, what with two Oscars and nine Grammys. Jennifer… well, she had a good career on television, and she’s got an Emmy and a Globe. But the comparison didn’t really help her.
Anyway, Barbra has deigned to comment about Aniston’s shoot, and her reaction was pretty much on course with everybody else’s – “What about the nose?”
Jennifer Aniston paid homage to Barbra in a photo shoot that is featured in this month’s Harper’s Bazaar magazine — and here’s what Barbra said about the photos:
I was very flattered that Jennifer Aniston chose to interpret my style with the photos in Harper’s Bazaar. She’s a delightful person, and I think she did a wonderful job. If only she had a bump on her nose.
[From Barbra Streisand’s blog]
Not necessarily a cut, not necessarily a compliment either. Personally, I think it was very classy of Barbra to use the words “flattered” and “delightful” when most icons would have used the words “bitch” and “please”.
Header: Babs’ album cover courtesy of Google Images. Additional photos of Jennifer Aniston’s Bazaar shoot courtesy of Bazaar online.
Jennifer should have kept her original nose for this shoot. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20.
I think JA is lovely, this shoot was awesome, and I don’t think Barbra would have as many fans as she does if she walked around shouting about how everyone is unworthy.
LOL about the original nose.
Streisand should be happy she’s being introduced to a younger generation. I wonder how many people under 30 know who she is. Under 40, even.
You’re not an icon unless you’re imitated. Marilyn Monroe, Twiggy, Louise Brooks, Lauren Bacall – all icons, all widely imitated. Streisand should be happy to join that league while she’s still around to appreciate it.
Sure beats another sequel to “Meet the Fockers.”
From the original artical, it sounds like Barbra and JA know or at least have spoken with each other. Babs would hardly be screeching about this.
At least she’s being photographed differently than fat, bloated and without makeup or hair done, yelling at the top of her lungs at real estate developers outside of her home.
Okay, that was mean. 😉
I like JA, but that shoot does still seem ooky.
That little bump on the nose comment speaks volumes I don’t think its necissarily a dig either but it shows how brilliant and saucy Barbra is in comparasion to Jen’s bland and desperate. As for her being known to people under 30 I don’t think she really gives a damn. Whenever she comes out of hiding pandemonium strikes,people went bat-shit crazy that she went to some Grammy parties last year. And I would disagree that Jennifer has the power to make Barbra an icon she has been one since she was in her mid 20s. She is still like butta.
ITA agree CandyK.!
Three of my younger children came to me a couple of weeks ago demanding to know who Marilyn Monroe was and why do people still talk about her!!(They are young teens) And what she did!
I was so amused as I tried to explain her charisma and beauty….they wanted to know everything! I had assumed they would just “know” who these icons are.
@mln: i agree!
I don’t see her comments as being a cut against JA. It sounds like a nice statement with a humorous comment about her nose. Barbra has said that she tried to get a nose job when she younger, but the doctor couldn’t promise that it wouldn’t affect her singing. If anything, I think Barbra’s comment is more self-deprecating than some sort of dig at JA.
And, mary jane, I was raised on old MGM musicals and movies and still am hard pressed to understand the allure of Marilyn.
I think the comments just sound generic, neutral if you will.
That’s the first I’ve seen of the pics. The one with the hat is very cute. The others, eh, she has a really stupid look on her face…
I don’t really get the point of the photo shoot, but the pictures themselves are interesting.
I’m a little surprised Barbra has a sense of humor about it – she’s extremely talented and successful, but I don’t picture her being a really easy going person!
I didn’t realize she’s an EGOT – do you think she has the big Tracey Jordan necklace? 😀
“I think Barbra’s comment is more self-deprecating than some sort of dig at JA.”
that’s exactly how I interpreted it, too.
sounds to me like she really was “flattered” and “delighted”…what, is she supposed to gush about it? Babs said something positive…what’s to read into?
Barbara Streisand did and will never need Jennifer Aniston or anyone to make her relevant. That is an insult beyond all insults. If this new generation does not know the amazing talents of this woman then there is no hope. PLUS Jennifer Aniston is hardly that relevant herself. Thus at 41 she needs to dress like this Icon. YEAH I get to some degree a Lindsey, Jessica S or hell even Jennifer Love-Hewitt. But at 41 most women have made there mark and know who they are. At that age they are the ones being imitated.. not imitating.
We live in a world where originality is a lost art. Everyone is trying to be someone else. There are only a few women in Hollywood today that will be remembered as such. Jennifer Aniston is not one of them..
Barbara’s statement was perfect. Nothing personal in it at all. Distant. Away from her. yep Perfect.
I don’t think Barbara meant it as a dig, though I agree about the bump.
The pictures may be an homage, but the interview was still with Aniston. What was she supposed to do, spend six hours giving a graduate course on the glory that is Streisand? Of course not, you talk about the ways she inspires you and how you may or may not be similar. Which is just what Aniston did. This is a story with nice pictures and a lot of people trying to turn it into something shocking or awful, which it is not.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and Ms. Streisand is not shy. If she didn’t like the photos, you’d know it. That said, Babs has a beautiful voice but she’s a left wing diva bitch.
“PLUS Jennifer Aniston is hardly that relevant herself.”
ahem…you are entitled to have your opinion about her…and I think we all know in which direction you lean…but please…keep it real. She was just named one of the top 10 female earners in hollywood. whatever you may think of her, she IS relevant.
My first reaction to these photos was to laugh out loud! They are ridiculous. I do like JA a lot and she’s beautiful, but she can only pull off a limited range of things, and this wasn’t one of them. The one in the hat is cute, but the others are roll on the ground funny!!! The fingernail in the mouth–OMG!
Ms. Streisand’s comments were gracious.
This photoshit (typo, keeping it) was pointless and boring. A Vanilla Rom-Com actress dressing up like a woman who’s an Icon.
That goes for Lowhan, Parisite Hilton and Jennifer Love Hewitt, too.
I am actually pleasantly surprised. Bab’s reputation is not particularly gracious.
Agree that the comment was self-deprecating.
And I’m in my 20s and MORE than know who Barbra Streisand is.
@ CandyKay
Pay a visit to talent night at your local GLBT bar. I GUARANTEE you, you will see a Barbra impersonation. She’s up there with Cher and Marilyn Monroe for the most-imitated.
@Green Is Good:
Maybe you don’t know that but Marilyn Monroe did this as well. She posed as Theda Bara, Clara Bow, Lillian Russell, Jean Harlow and Marlene Dietrich in shots for Richard Avedon…
I loved this photoshoot.
Either she has a huge ego or/and some very bad advisors, probably both, often proved by her bad movie choices… And now this embarassment…How dare this bimbo compare herself with Streisand?It takes big balls, indeed!
anon: August 6th, 2010 at 11:08 am
@Green Is Good: Maybe you don’t know that but Marilyn Monroe did this as well. She posed as Theda Bara, Clara Bow, Lillian Russell, Jean Harlow and Marlene Dietrich in shots for Richard Avedon…
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Thanks Anon! I love all things Golden Age Hollywood, but I’ve never seen those photos! I’m going to google it.
Jean Harlow. Now that was some sexay without being trashy.
I like Jennifer….. she’s okay for TV and some lighthearted fun, but BARBRA??? Please, bitch! Not even close Jen….
@lucy2 love it!
mln and lisa- thank you and i agree. yes. imitation in a form of flattery and as much of a horrible diva that barabara is rumored to be she is a great entertainer in every which way. she is like ‘butta’. JA just seems to play the quirky rom-com and it might earn her money but it doesnt give her talent. also, i cant help but stare at JAs nose. it looks so… silly putty-ish in these photos. i cant stop staring. it just seems so… wrong.
Wow, I really don’t see how you can interpret her comment WITHOUT thinking it’s a dig at Aniston.
It was like she was trying to be very gracious, but just couldn’t help herself, especially considering Aniston looks like she’s about to sneeze in these photos where she’s supposed to be ‘deep and emotive’ lol.
To me, Babs is totally saying, “nice try, you’re sweet, but you’re just a fake coward who has painfully and steadfastly removed anything that might make you unique or interesting.”
This really was a very bad idea for Jennifer to do this. I can understand what her handlers are going for here, ok, she’s getting older, we know she can’t do ‘serious’ so let’s try to make her over as the ‘Funny Girl.’ It’s not a bad career move, she should just aim a little lower.
Also, to the people who think this shoot and interview were just a bit of fun, there are probably a dozen or so people who are engaged full time in nothing else than her image and her career. This was calculated, it just didn’t work.
Jackson, One of Jen’s trademarks is having a stupid look on her face in publicity shots and movies.
Meh…I like it. People complain that she is boring and vanilla–well, yeah, a little bit. She’s found what looks best on her, and she sticks with that look. She’s also found a niche, “artistically,” that she’s comfortable with, and stuck with that. She’s good at what she does, even if she doesn’t seem to challenge herself much usually.
I think it was cool of her to try something different, and to do an homage to someone who isn’t known for being a sexpot above all else, but actually has talent. Jennifer doesn’t look pretty in these pictures, and I think that was a gutsy move on her part, and it’s refreshing to read something that’s not about her love life.
I think she should stick to imitating the people she normally imitates: Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, and Meg Ryan. haha 🙂 When you imitate someone as unique and talented as Barbara Streisand, people will notice your lack thereof.
Oh and I read about Aniston’s movie, called The Baster or The Switch? The story is about a women who impregnates herself with a turkey baster only her guy friend switches the sperm with his own sperm, thereby tricking her into having his kid. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this–sperm rape as romantic comedy? Sorry, I violated you terribly, but let’s live happily ever after now? 🙁 Ewww
I don’t think Barabara Streisand would do a movie like this. Even “Meet the Fockers 10” would be leagues above The Baster.
bump or not, i still think ja looks like barbra. always did, always will. and what is up with ja’s ears. they elf-like.
jennifer anniston looks like a plastic drag queen. NOT attractive. stop with the nip/tuck already!
Well spoken Barbra. Lets not compare caviar to buttarh.
@Praise St. Angie,
I think it is even clearer which side you lean towards. I don’t see how being a top earner necessarily makes you relevant in terms of talent; people respecting you as an actor or wanting to go see your films. Jennifer Aniston has only ever been in one movie that was successful at the box office. If anything, this is probably where the concept comes from that she is irrelevant; that she does not make successful movies or have acting “chops.” (which truly is her job).
“I think it is even clearer which side you lean towards.”
I don’t lean toward any “side”. (FFS, how old are we?) I just prefer that people be honest in their assessments. as with a lot of celebrities, people often let their dislike of one cloud their judgment.
if she’s one of she top hollywood earners, she’s clearly relevant to some people in hollywood…otherwise, she wouldn’t be working as much as she does and she wouldn’t be one of the top ten earners. and that poster did not qualify the term “relevant” with anything. nor did I. you are the one that attached “in terms of talent” on there.
are some of her movies stinkers? you bet, but that doesn’t make her irrelevant.
for the record, as I stated, I’m not on any “side”. I didn’t say that the other poster was on a “side” either. I said “direction”, as in that poster leans in the direction of not liking her.
funny that you brought up the idea of “sides” though…as there is no “side” to be on in this post. but that makes it easy to guess which “side” you’re on. Freudian slip, perhaps?
I don’t think it was a dig in the slightest. They apparently know each other in some way or another so I expect she was being genuine and nice about it.
And Jennifer was NOT comparing herself to Babs. She talked about how she idolized her for the things she managed to do and how she’d LIKE to be these things-not that she is already.
J: She has not only been in one successful movie at the box office, you know it, I know it and everyone else knows it. I understand hyperbole but if you want people to take you seriously, you have to speak from fact.
Barbara’s comments were pleasant and gracious, not a dig at all IMO. Everybody has made such a big deal out of this. It was a cool and different type of photoshoot for Aniston. What’s the problem?
Aniston was NOT putting herself anywhere near in the same league as Streisand. She looks up to her. That’s not the same thing as saying she has these things in common with her. The spin some of you can put on simple words is just astounding!
Bottom line is people who hate her find fault, people who are neutral or like her think it’s cool. No different than any other piece about her.
Intresting how many Freuds there are here, LOL, reading in things that arent there!
Wouldn´t you all like to be dressed and make-uped like your idol? Or have the voice of someone you admire? There´s nothing more to it.
AND – I wouldn´t say no to Ms Anistons career and money, however differently I would manage it.
Jeeezz, get at grip, get a life people!
Hi guys, my fave beauty guru has finally posted her review of Jen’s perfume on Youtube if you guys wanna check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i86cdZCQpqE&playnext=1&videos=g8zQ7_CjO4k&feature=sub
Excellent mock meant to say: if only she stopped playing “Miss perfect”.
The Hamm said it best.
Wait a minute–the EGOT is an actual thing? They didn’t just make that up for 30 Rock?
I think its kinda cool how much she looks like Babs. I have to admit that I like Anistons movies too. They are exactly what they are supposed to be – mindless fluff to forget the world for a couple hours.
Sounded like a gracious comment on an innocuous attempt by JA to pay tribute to a woman that she admires. A little good-natured remark about the nose which is obviously meant to be humorous and slightly ironic (maybe)No story here.
JA is in my favorite movie of all time:
Office Space !!! An absolute classic.
I will therefore forgive her this.