Good lord, this really looks like an old photo of Jennifer Aniston, right? Like Allure used a photo from 2004 for their cover. Hm. Anyway, Jennifer covers the January issue of Allure to promote Cake, which has already garnered Golden Globe and SAG Best Actress nominations for Aniston (plus, she got a Critics Choice nomination yesterday as well). Aniston has really upped her interview game for her presumptive Oscar campaign – last week, her THR interview was actually interesting and lucid. These quotes from Allure are also pretty interesting in that it’s not just random, spacey thoughts and New Age-speak. Some highlights:
Why “feminism” is seen as complicated: “Because people overcomplicate it. It’s simply believing in equality between men and women. Pretty basic.”
On the questions about pregnancy and children: “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. You may not have a child come out of your vagina, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t mothering—dogs, friends, friends’ children. I have a lot of friends who decided not to have children, who can’t have children, or are trying but are having a difficult time. There’s all sorts of reasons why children aren’t in people’s lives, and no one has the right to assume. It’s quite rude, insulting and ignorant.”
Her public persona as a woman who was “too driven” to have babies: “This continually is said about me: that I was so career-driven and focused on myself; that I don’t want to be a mother, and how selfish that is.” Ticking off these accusations now, she seems unfazed. But when it’s suggested to Aniston that maybe she just lets the insinuations roll off her back after so many years of hearing them, she says, “No. Even saying it gets me a little tight in my throat.”
The conversation about “going ugly for Oscar”: “A woman going physically unattractive is where you get recognition and some sort of respect. You read things like, ‘Oh, finally, she’s acting!'” The actress calls such criticism “quite sexist, to be honest, because men don’t get that.”
On Justin Theroux: “We’re equals. He’s a nurturer. He is so fiercely loyal. Beyond protective. I mean, the way he takes care of our dogs, he takes care of me, he takes care of friends.” Aniston doesn’t say much about their wedding plans. “We do talk about it all the time.”
On Gwyneth Paltrow’s style: “I’ve known her a long time. That woman has got style to the moon and back. Chic, effortless, gorgeous. This sums us up. Look, I’m in a T-shirt, jeans, and 400-year-old shoes, and this one is just, like, to a T. She’s always been sweet to me.”
Props to Jennifer for talking about feminism without sounding like a jackass (coughEvangelineLillycough). And she’s absolutely right, society and the media and other people shouldn’t judge women for their reproductive choices. In general. But what I always say about Jennifer is… she invited them in. She always invited the speculation and conversation about the state of her womb. Until she didn’t. And now she’s got different talking points. Now the speculation is “rude, insulting and ignorant.” It might have been better if she said that in her 2005 Vanity Fair hit-job interview, right?
Photos courtesy of Allure.
I think it is rude to constantly ask women when are they having a baby, why they haven’t etc…..people do it to my friends and it’s awfully rude, but they just now ignore the questions.
Why is she called selfish if she wants to focus on her career, have a life of no children, but men are not, if they want to focus on career and not have babies?
+1000
My sister constantly gets asked when she’s going to have baby number two, the questions never end and it’s both rude and annoying.
I get that all the time. Apparently once your child hits one it’s like, what are you waiting for? So obnoxious.
I sometimes think my friends who have children are envious of the friends that don’t…. LOL I’ve heard some interesting conversations between the two. Haha
Ugh me too. And when I tell them we are probably stopping at one, I have heard about how it’s not fair to my one kid to make him an only child, and he was going to be spoiled, and not have any family once his parents died. The thing is, we are not able to have any more, I would love to but can’t. So, obviously these are all things I have thought about. I’m okay with it now, but the first couple years I wanted to run out of the room crying when somebody would ask.
I couldn’t get pregnant again after my first. I had a condition that caused complete infertility. When people would ask when I was going to finally give my daughter a sibling, I wanted to sock them.
@MrsB oh goodness yes, the classic “it’s selfish to not give your child a sibling” line, people can be so insensitive sometimes. I don’t know why people go around making another person’s life decisions their business, if you’re happy with your choices, then why can’t they just accept that and let it go? Ignore them, hon.
@Peppa I’m sorry to hear that and see, this is another thing, my sister actually miscarried during her second pregnancy so when people were asking her about having another one, it completely rubbed salt in the wound 🙁 I’m sorry that you and her have to deal with insensitive people who (for the most part) don’t mean to offend.
I got told I was selfish for only wanting one child. Just ridiculous. People should mind their own business. It’s not their life.
I was told it was ridiculous for me not to consider a third child because my two were so close in age. I mean, hello what???
I finally figured out the perfect reply when people question why I have “just-the-one” kid. When people ask why I didn’t want more kids, I just answer, “Yes, I wanted more.” And then I don’t elaborate.
Preach!
+ 1000 People can be so insensitive.
Sorry you had to go through that Mrs.B & Peppa and others.
It is extremely rude and nobody’s business and can be incredibly hurtful.
Yes and I’m tired of peer pressure to get hitched and knocked up by a certain age “before you become old and unattractive (read – after 30). Can’t we just live and let live? Not everyone wants the same things in life.
And not everyone finds the same opportunities or obstacles along their life’s path.
Exactly. But societal expectations are sadly so strong. When my sister was 31, my mom gave her the same amount of money she had given me for my wedding (when I was 28) and said “since it looks like you’ll never be married, why don’t you use this money towards a condo instead.” !! She eventually got married at 39 and had a baby at 40, after telling my mom she never wanted to have kids, just to keep her off her back. Sigh.
I agree, and I wish that, at the very first time she was asked, she said to the interviewer “you know, that’s a pretty personal and rude question to ask someone. It’s pretty much none of your business when I, or anyone, decides to procreate. next question.”
and said that EVERY time someone asked her.
hell, I wish every woman said that any time she was asked in an interview.
As someone who doesn’t want any children, it feels extremely hurtful to get remarks like: “You’ll change your mind!”, as if the decision not to procreate is something I took overnight or “You would be a great mother”, as if being good at something (how do they know it though?) automatically implies that you have to do it as well. I am happy this way and even if I am biologically capable to give birth, but I refuse to, I am no less of a woman than other ones who do have babies.
Many also assume that if you don’t have babies, it’s because you’re infertile, not realizing that there are many couples/women out there who simply don’t want to, for whatever reason.
I roll my eyes when I hear discussions where people ask “So when is baby 2 coming? or When will you make me a grandmother?”. Everybody looks at me in shock when I make remarks like: “Maybe they don’t want to.”. HOW COULD THEY POSSIBLY NOT WANT TO, OMG??? I mean, just look at the number of abandoned or mistreated children, because their mothers DIDN’T WANT TO. I am not saying I would abandon my child if I would end up having one, but so many women reach that point and commit those atrocious acts, because the society fails to do anything about it to prevent it before happening, since not becoming a mother is still seen as some kind of sin.
the difference between you (and Me for that matter, totally with you on that no kids thing) and Jennifer Aniston is that you don’t thinly encourage and goad that speculation and that commentary and then act put upon by it
I think Jennifer enjoyed the attention the speculation got her, but now as the years go by and people start to think that the pregnancy rumors are ridiculous, she wants it to stop. It makes me think of Cumberbatch. He enjoyed the tumblr fans, the memes, the shipping etc when they were making him a famous name and he was a bachelor, but now that he is an engaged serious Oscar contender, he wants that all to stop. Unfortunately once you open up Pandora’s box, it’s hard to close.
@Peppa: Huh, it made me think of Taylor Swift, who started out her career in part by putting out pap walks and blind-item songs about who she dated. After people called her out on it and she has a new album, suddenly the speculation’s “rude” and “sexist.”
But fer crisssakes, maybe at one point she thought she would have children and then it didn’t happen- no partner and now she has a partner, but maybe it’s not as easy. Funny that you all are blaming her for inviting people into the discussion, when really perhaps she innocently thought it wouldnt be as difficult as it’s become to have kids. Or, maybe there’s such a thing as changing your mind. Anyway, I am not a anistan, but I find the blaming or derision of her failure to get pregnant really astounding.
@Nina
+10000000. This site claims to be pro-women and all that, and yet look at the blaming the writer of this article does… oh please. What a hypocrite.
Bye, I’m done with this site…
Thank you. It’s annoying as hell.
THIS.
I’ve got a friend who was constantly asking me “are you going to make me an uncle” ???
I know she didn’t mean to be rude, but at a certain point I had to tell her: STOP, that question is not something you ask around. I don’t want children, but there are women who may be struggling getting pregnant, and it’s “prefereable” if you don’t ask them about their womb situation.
If she hadn’t made such a spectacle of having wanting kids, yada, yada, yada, this would never come up. In her passive-aggressive way, she encourages interviews like this so people will continually feel sorry for her. I would have more respect for her if she, once and for all, came out and said children and/or marriage are not in my future right now. I’m completely happy being childless and not married. Cameron Diaz does, and it’s working for her.
I just got married. I’m 29 years young. The SECOND we got married all everyone will talk about is when will I be pregnant?! UGH! I keep getting this: ohhhh, you will be pregnant by your 30th birthday!!! I want to be like: No, I won’t because I don’t want to be. SHESH!
@Lovelee: I got that too when I first got married. I just kept telling everyone that asked that we were still practising…
Just this week one of my cousins asked when the hell I’m I going to have a baby since it’s getting late for me (I’m 26!). I just laughed in his face and continued on my way. People are so freaking judgemental. I’m not interested in kids and I’ve been telling my family that since forever but they just don’t get it. They have this preconcieved notion of what happiness and a successful life is and that requires children. Oh well…
Numerous studies have shown male fertility declines 40-50% by 40 and there is a steep decline after, just like women. One study found women in their late 30s were 50% more likely to get pregnant in a year if their partner was under 40 vs. over. The older a man is the longer it will take him to get a woman pregnant and the more likely she is to have a miscarriage. Most research is being done by females because men won’t do it but there aren’t as many female researcher out there. Male researchers have always refused to do these studies, except for a few.
Until recently, no study on female fertility took into account the age of a woman’s partner so no one really knows how fertile a woman is as she ages.
@Lisa, I don’t think my cousing was talking about my fertitlity rate. He was stating that it’s getting late for me to get married and have children since being 30 and single equals somehow to being old and a loser at life.
That ‘s incredibly depressing. Some things never change.
Perhaps if she hadn’t actually encouraged all the “I’m going to have a baby” talk herself for years…just saying.
Perhaps because when she was younger, she actually believed she would have a child? I always thought I’d have kids when younger, but now whoops, I’m in my late40s and look, I forgot to get married and have kids. But thank God people don’t chastise me for having thought or perhaps even expressed back then that I’d have children. Amazing the judgeyness.
@Nina, who wrote: “Perhaps because when she was younger, she actually believed she would have a child? I always thought I’d have kids when younger, but now whoops, I’m in my late40s and look, I forgot to get married and have kids. But thank God people don’t chastise me for having thought or perhaps even expressed back then that I’d have children. Amazing the judgeyness.”
People who want children ‘have’ children, and they don’t all do it naturally. No one is ‘judging’ Jennifer Aniston because she doesn’t want kids or haven’t had any, but I for one ‘am’ judging her for putting the ‘Baby’ issue out there and is now pretending not to understand ‘why’ people are interested in her ‘Baby’ issues.
Why are women here trying to make this about people blaming a single woman for not getting married and having biological kids? It’s not about that. You don’t want kids? Good on you! I support your right not to have any kids. Poor Jennifer Aniston never met the ‘right’ man and who blames her for not having babies jus tot make ‘others’ happy? If Jen ‘really’ wanted kids she would have them by now … ask Sandra Bullock. She should just be honest and say she doesn’t want kids, just like women here have done. If Jen did that no one would question her again. But to try and make it about people being mean to her for taking the ‘Baby bait’ she’s put out there for nearly 2 decades is disingenuous.
This is her new talking point.. she says it every interview and for every promotion.
Every actress gets the same questions. So do the men. Even when they have children they get asked.. “when are you going to add to the family” It is all in how you handle it and how you put it out there. Sometimes we play a part in the narrative about ourselves. Like it or not. Jennifer helped write the narrative. I can understand that at this point in her life she is tired of it.
This to me is a case of not liking the final outcome. But enjoying the path to it.
She had less of a choice in her approach than you suggest. Her womb choice was inserted into the media right around the divorce. Somebody somewhere went around saying that she didnt want kids and that was the reason Brad left. It was clearly planted info to demonise her or take the pressure off the other relationship. To this day I still read comments from people who think that she is barren and that somehow diminishes here femininity. So she countered. Hers was a very different situation from say Cameron Diaz.
Different in what way? Diaz was up front about not wanting children and that was that. Aniston insisted for years that she did want children and encouraged the bi-weekly “baby bump” tabloid BS. Now that it’s no longer serving her, she finally says children are not a priority. She inserted her own womb into the media and now she has to deal with the fallout.
Yes that story about Brad leaving her or wanting out or the two splitting, because of children issues was a pr hack demonising her as being at fault for the split. IMO To this day I hear people say it sadly.
I think we can deduce from the events of the past ten years that she didnt want kids during the marriage and that played a role in the break up. Thats ok. My problem is that somebody with that insider knowledge went and fed that to the media for no other reason other than to hurt her image. Now her choices were 1) confirm this item and live with the fury of the a million soccer mums who cant believe Rachel would be so “selfish”. or 2) deny it, give the masses enough so she can continue to have a mainstream career and live her private life as she pleased.
She chose 2. Most people would have done the same. Shes spent the last years pretty much trying to keep that fanbase intact so that she too can have a career thanks to that leak.
I very much doubt that the children issue was the only reason for the split, but I do think it may have played into it. Brad very much wanted a big family. She obviously didn’t. Children is one thing you can’t compromise on. You either have them or you don’t. If having a family was so important to him but not at all important to her, then that was just one more straw on the pile. By the time he met Angie there were so many straws that Aniston herself said the marriage was dead in all but name.
.. I disagree,,…….. It’s further demonising Jenn and Jenn’s womb as the reason…. He left
and the marriage was not completley over, Brad went back home to Jennifer after Mr and Mrs Smith.
ok I don’t want to get into the Jenn,Ange thing, so I’ll leave it alone. .
I’m aware of that, and also that they made a last-ditch effort to salvage the marriage with a trip to the Caribbean, which evidently didn’t take as they broke up immediately afterwards.
I don’t think we can deduce anything. She may very well have wanted kids and changed her mind, or couldn’t have them for whatever reason. We will never know.
It’s all pure speculation on our part. We know nothing.
@Lilliputian, who wrote: “My problem is that somebody with that insider knowledge went and fed that to the media for no other reason other than to hurt her image.”
It was ‘assumed’ by many, including members of the Media, prior to 2005 … in fact, it was one of the leading Hollywood speculations from year 2 of their marriage. Why? In interviews, Brad would talk about kids and starting a family with a warm glow in his eyes and a smile on his face. Jen? Tell me yourself. Here is a ABC “Primetime” Diane Sawyer interview with Jennifer Aniston from December 15, 2004. Notice that Diane states “You said you were going to have children after “Friends” and watch Jen’s face when she answers (it’s not the interview where she says “Maybe one and maybe another one to keep ‘it’ company,” because I can’t find it).
The good news is this has part of the “Saturday Night Live” skit with Jen asking ‘Jennifer Aniston’ “When are you going to have a baby?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpRgEFwDlVQ
How is an interview where, after 2 years if marriage, you’re getting asked about “when are you having kids?”, any less rude than if it’s someone in your family or one of your friends asking the same question? Just because it’s Diane Sawyer?
Aniston clearly had plans to transition into films from TV and there is nothing wrong with that, or her having those ambitions. Very obviously, you strike when the iron is hot and grab the opportunities when you have them. That doesn’t necessarily mean that she never had any intention of having kids, perhaps she simply wanted to get a few films under her belt first. Pitt may have wanted a passel of kids, but let’s face it, he wouldn’t have been obliged to disappear from the screen for a year at a time at a critical point in his career which is basically what he wanted his then wife to do.
And just because I know someone is going to say “but Angie did it”, I’d like to point out that Jolie already had a film career going so their situations were different.
To give another similar example from a career perpective… Scarlett Johannson vs Blake Lively. Lively’s career is dead in the water these days because she didn’t grab whatever opportunities she had at the end of her series and run with them.
To ‘someonestolemyname,’ Brad did not “go back home,” AFTER Mr and Mrs Smith hon…Brad officially split with Aniston in Jan of 2005 (as in released a press release and everything) rumor mill has often said they were complete toast as early as Nov 2004…but either way what is known is that Mr and Mrs Smith was still filming in May of 2005, per Doug Liman (a good 5-6 mos after their official split)…in fact that last delicious scene in the film where Brad and Angie are in the marriage counselors office was shot in may 2005 (on the DVD Liman says “we rushed it wet to the premiere,” which was in June of 2005) – they also were together by then as well…and you can sure tell by that footage. Hotness.
@Alice, who wrote: “How is an interview where, after 2 years if marriage, you’re getting asked about “when are you having kids?”, any less rude than if it’s someone in your family or one of your friends asking the same question? Just because it’s Diane Sawyer?”
Did you miss the part where Diane Sawyer said to Jen “You said ‘After Friends I’m gonna have children?” Diane Sawyer asked the ‘rude’ question because sometime prior to “Friends” ending in 2003 ‘Jen’ gave a timeline for when she was going to start having kids. And when Jen was asked about it in January 2004 instead of saying, “You know, I’ve changed my mind about that. My life’s satisfying without kids and I probably won’t have any” she said, “Probably 2, a brother ad a sister.”
@Emma: and maybe she thought she would, so I don’t quite get putting the “never want to have kids” words in her mouth. Maybe she had projects she was looking at in 2004 that she didn’t have in 2003 and pushed back the timing. I also keep hearing about how their marriage was in trouble a year before, maybe she recognized that and was unwilling to have a “try and save my marriage” baby. It’s hardly likely that any celebrity, regardless of who they are, is going to say in an interview “Well, my husband/wife and I are having marriage difficulties and I’m not willing to bring a child into that until they’re resolved”, now are they?
There are any number of reasons her “having a child” timeline might have changed between 2003 and the Sawyer interview, none of which she might have been willing to talk about in air.
He did go back to Jen, after filming began on Mr and Mrs Smith and he was involved with Ange.
He and Jen also went on a Caribbean vacation together January 2005.
Brad and Ange were still denying being together when Papz photos surfaced of the two on a beach in Africa , those were first shown in the British press, 2005 April and US mags quickly put them in print a few days later, but even with the papz Beach photos of Brad and Ange they still denied they were together, ….
…Brad even though split with Jen was announced was still trying to protect his image ….
Over and out on Jen threads until Oscar noms……too much back to the future 🙂 haven’t really paid this much attn to her since 05, her Oscar media blitz is working…
She is Jennifer Aniston she can dictate the questions.
He didn’t, he never left Jen in the first place, so how could he ’go back’ to her? Mr and Mrs Smith was still filming til June 2005. He and Jen formally split January 7 2005. He had not left her prior to that date. Aniston and Vaughn were an item in March 2005. Pitt and Jolie didn’t get together til April/May 2005. Brad did nothing wrong, there was no image to protect, and Jen sure didn’t protect him, she threw him under the bus and sent out the notion that he cheated when he did not. Unfortunately people blindly believe the demonization of him and the vicious lies about an affair that the Aniston camp pr put in the tabloids.
pr hack has nothing to do with it. The pr hack demonised Brad and insinuated he had an affair, to excuse Aniston choosing a career over her husband and family. And everyone repeated the rumor, and all of a sudden everyone assumes its true. There was baby/career speculation starting from when Brad and Jen first got married, the speculation was throughout the 4.5 year marriage, so I’m not sure where you got that it was a pr hack thing post-divorce. That is something Aniston fans say, to take the heat off her. But the facts show it was something she even courted during their marriage. Remember the SNL skit she did, pretending to be a pap, shouting “Jen, when are you going to have a baby!” This was WAY before Brad even did M&MS. Even back then, she was mocking and goading and feeding the situation. Everyone from paps, to blogs, to fans were discussing it not long after she was first married, this had NOTHING to do with pr demonising her. She deliberately chose to feed into it. In addition to the skit, she did that ad for SmartWater, I believe, where she was mocking being pregnant. Most people see this now. She relies on it as a talking point and if people stop talking about it, she feeds it to keep it alive.
Where is that nude cover I saw at Just Jared yesterday of naked Jen pressed up against her hair stylist?
About the ‘womb’ issue? It’s only rude if you don’t invite speculation about your womb.
I didn’t think that was a cover, I thought that pic was just inside the magazine.
Someone tell me what engaged woman would willingly pose naked from the waist up, hugging a man who is not your fiancé? I don’t care if he is her gay hairdresser. But since she’s Jen, she’s again getting a pass?
I saw that photo and I don’t think she’s naked, you can see a bra strap peeking through her hair.
@Esmom, who wrote: “I saw that photo and I don’t think she’s naked, you can see a bra strap peeking through her hair.”
Nope, that’s a string of her (highlighted) hair. If she had on a bra we’d see the bottom part somewhere between his hand and bicep. Take another gander. Here’s the photo in question from “Jennifer Aniston Goes Topless with Her Hairstylist for ‘Allure'” in the Mon, 15 December 2014 (11:00am) edition of Just Jared:
http://www.justjared.com/photo-gallery/3262488/jennifer-aniston-goes-topless-with-her-hairstylist-for-allure-cover-02/
@Esmon, who wrote: “I don’t think we can deduce anything. She may very well have wanted kids and changed her mind, or couldn’t have them for whatever reason. We will never know.”
Jen told us in 2005–the whole year–that she ‘had’ wanted kids, ‘still’ wanted kids, and would ‘have’ kids. Seems pretty specific to me. She was still expressing her desire for kids in 2009 so if she’s changed her mind, which is her prerogative to do, it was after getting together with Justin. I think she wouldn’t be getting all the questions and speculation if she’d just been honest from the start and simply said that she’s happy with her life without kids. Nothing wrong with it. Several actresses have made this statement without the Moon dropping from the sky. But Jen didn’t want to look like the ‘bad guy’ in her marriage (not that I think she would have). Understandable, but then you don’t get to cry “Foul!” when people take the bait and ask about your plans to have kids.
Thanks for all the tidbits but I’m not sure what’s so hard to understand that someone might change her mind about having kids, or want to have kids and find out she has fertility issues. You act as if this is some major character flaw but I’d guess pretty much every celebrity has contradicted her/himself on various occasions or changed his/her mind on a particular topic.
So maybe she did want kids back then, but either changed her mind or it just didn’t work out. It’s not exactly a rare situation, there are a lot of 40-something women out there who wanted children but never had them for whatever reasons.
5 years ago I would have said I very much wanted children. It’s become clear that that’s not going to happen for me for various reasons, and as it turns out I’m fine with that. But I still don’t appreciate strangers and acquaintances asking about the state of my womb. If you aren’t close enough to someone for them to feel comfortable telling you all about their medical or relationship issues, don’t ask the question.
@Esmon, who wrote: “Thanks for all the tidbits but I’m not sure what’s so hard to understand that someone might change her mind about having kids, or want to have kids and find out she has fertility issues. You act as if this is some major character flaw … ”
At no time did I insinuate it was some kind of ‘flaw’ for anyone to change their mind. My point is, and has been, that at no time over the past 17-years has Jennifer Aniston ever indicated that had “changed her mind about having kids” until the last year. At NO point has she ‘ever’ indicated that she has infertility issues … not before her marriage, not during her marriage, and certainly not after her marriage. She spoofed being asked about having a baby in January 2004, something it’s hard to believe a woman with infertility issues who wants kids would ever do. And having kids naturally isn’t the only way to have kids. Just ask Sandy Bulluck and Charlize Theron.
Moreover, why does she ‘have’ to have fertility issues at all? Why can’t the woman simply not want kids? There’s nothing wrong with that at all. But I believe there ‘is’ something wrong with not wanting kids, not being honest about it in order to keep a fan base, and then getting offended by questions about a subject you’ve encouraged over the years … and still not coming clean by saying “I don’t want kids, I’m happy in my life without kids.” That would certainly stop all the ‘ignorant’ comments and questions.
Eh… Given where his arms are, she could very well have a strapless bra on. Or the stick on things. So what?
I like her answer about feminism and I agree with her answer about everybody womb-watching her for so long, I definitely want kids but I hate it when people make my friends who don’t want kids feel bad. It’s so sad that a lot of people feel like a woman’s worth is wrapped up in having kids. Not every woman wants to have kids and if the reason why you have kids is to appease a bunch of people then you should probably rethink it.
I like what she has to say here.
Yeah, it is strange, because it’s not 1951. I realize her PR may have played a part in the past, but she moved on, and they should too. It’s not as if, as a species, we are nearing extinction, due to under-population. So other than an old value system, there is no imperative for anyone to have children, outside of their own desire (and ability).
I especially feel like this is something more prevalent in North America than in Europe. This weird obsession with babies and stepford-ness.
Here in Germany you are basically called a leech of society when you don’t have kids. Many parents are (or at least seem to be) bitter because they feel like their kids cost them a fortune and are so stressfull, and they want to be compensated financially (which they already are since education is free, they get tax cuts, children have free health ensurance through the parents, for each child they get almost 200 Euro cash per month from the state depending on how many kids they have) while they think childless woman or couples swim in money and are on vacation all year. As an unmarried, childfree woman I pay a shitload of tax that also pays for the things they get for free (and I am fine with it!).
The main argument is the “intergenerational contract” which basically means that todays adults “pay” the retirement pension for the current pensioners (through tax). Since the birthrate is sinking there will be fewer people left to pay the pension in future since there will be not as much tax income to the state. That way, childfree people do not “produce” future tax payers and “are just selfish leeches” (so they say) who should therefore pay even more tax “since they have so much money left”. Granted, not everyone is like that but I have been hearing this kind of stuff for years from many sides and it drives me crazy. As if any of those parents had their kids because of the intergenerational contract!
Oh, and another argument is obviously “Who will take care of you when you are old? You will be so lonely!” Yeah, thanks. Another selfless reason to have kids. Not. Also, didn’t work out for my parents. I’m forced to live too far away to ever be able to take care of them.
People should have kids because they love them, nothing else.
Sorry. Rant over.
So true, also if her narrative has changed, then that’s her right too. As we grow our priorities change, our wants & needs. Even if her narrative PR wise, or personally 10 years ago was that she wanted children.. well, today she may not. Or she may not want to talk about it anymore. It’s her prerogative. She shouldn’t be judged on old interviews etc forever. We’re all allowed to change our minds, whether that’s on having children, or talking about having them.
Bej, I agree with you. It is hard to shut the door once you open it, but as a decade has passed she very well could have changed her mind. The vitriol on both sides is very, very weird and I think there is a lot of projecting from the peanut gallery.
I like her answers here too.
I have two friends who had to have hysterectomies fairly young. I know the one was often asked about kids, by people who had no business doing so. She usually did her best to brush it off but one persistent coworker kept harping on her, so she finally snapped and told them about her surgery. She shouldn’t have to do that.
Question: how did she always invite the speculation and conversation? By not responding to the ka-zillion tabloid stories about her non-babyness?
As a 30-something who also does not have children, I get tired of fielding questions from friends and family when they ask (and I’ve already told them). I can’t imagine how exhausting it is for her.
I am no Anniston Stan but unless I misssd something, I don’t understand why that was said and why it’s okay to say something like that.
“By not responding to the ka-zillion tabloid stories about her non-babyness?”
That’s the thing: she responds every.time. Aniston leaking and debunking pregnancy and engagement rumors is the only reason she’s stayed relevant the last decade. Granted, I think it’s rude as hell to ask a woman that question, but this has been her carefully crafted narrative for a very long time.
I agree. Jennifer was the one who started all of this in the first place. Normally I would find it rude to ask a woman such questions, but she kind of brought it upon herself.
The stories about her not wanting babies came up during the split, rumours surfaced later that it was planted by other PR people wanting to demonise Jenn for the reason for the split.
The PR minions couldn’t have the golden boy wanting out because he simply found another woman and wanted to move on.
Whole can a worms on that…
And really I’ve never been a fan of Jenn’s I find her somewhat boring, as a person really, but I think the way She is always questioned by the press for not producing a baby or demonised as the reason for Brad and she not producing children or even now not having a baby, is just mean and rude.
Oops, wrong spot. Deleted and reposted where it’s appropriate…
Not true Someonestolemyname, absolutely false. pr hack has nothing to do with it. The pr hack demonised Brad and insinuated he had an affair, to excuse Aniston choosing a career over her husband and family. And everyone repeated the rumor, and all of a sudden everyone assumes its true. There was baby/career speculation starting from when Brad and Jen first got married, the speculation was throughout the 4.5 year marriage, so I’m not sure where you got that it was a pr hack thing post-divorce. That is something Aniston fans say, to take the heat off her. But the facts show it was something she even courted during their marriage. Remember the SNL skit she did, pretending to be a pap, shouting “Jen, when are you going to have a baby!” This was WAY before Brad even did M&MS. Even back then, she was mocking and goading and feeding the situation. Everyone from paps, to blogs, to fans were discussing it not long after she was first married, this had NOTHING to do with pr demonising her. She deliberately chose to feed into it. In addition to the skit, she did that ad for SmartWater, I believe, where she was mocking being pregnant. Most people see this now. She relies on it as a talking point and if people stop talking about it, she feeds it to keep it alive. Aniston pr minions couldn’t have Aniston’s part in the divorce shown, she had to be seen as 100% innocent and above blame, even though the no children thing was NOT NEW and was an issue for 4.5 entire years, they had to smear Brad with lies about an affair, to excuse Aniston’s actions. It was disgraceful. A pr hack and hitjob.
She didn’t invite them in.
The assumption was made once Pitt decided to procreate/adopt with Jolie.
I’m not particularly fond of Anniston but the media, as do Brangeloonies, perpetuate this nonsense.
Like it or not, she WAS the woman scorned.
She did one interview and since then it’s plagued her. Let’s conveniently ignore the matrimonial bliss shoot done by the Jolie-Pitts, the comment made years later about how their kids get to watch mommy and daddy fall in love on film, or the fact that Pitt/Anniston should have never spoken publicly about their separation…
At the end of the day, BOTH women got so much flack and Brad glided through all this foolery unscathed 😒
Maybe she wanted children at one point and changed her mind, it happens. There were rumors she miscarried and I can’t begin to fathom what that’s like.
I can’t fault her for being tired of these questions.
Men simply are not pressured to have babies the way women are and I loathe “bump watches” by the media because it puts pressure on women very early in their pregnancies OR pressure to maintain the perfect body because god forbid a little bloat kicks in.
The MOST men will ever be asked is when are they marrying, that’s it, and with that they’re still allowed bachelorhood as a choice vs women being unable to find a man.
As for her always playing the victim, she’s never claimed to be one, and she’s said repeatedly she’s happy with her life as is.
Do I find her vapid, shallow, and lacking substance? Sure I do, but the role ascribed to her via media/fans/haters is simply a projection based on opinions over something that happened a freaking decade ago.
Meh.
Couldn’t agree with you more. Also when men become fathers nobody asks them how they are going to combine work and family life. That’s what wives are for, right?
Yes to all of this!!!! Perfect post
“So, hey Von Brow, what’s your sperm count and motility?” “Erectile dysfunction?” “Why aren’t you out in the yard with a kid, playing catch?”.
….all things being equal.
I don’t think you can say the assumption just came up because Brad got with Angelina. In her VF interview, one of her selling points as to how hurtful the rumors were about her being too selfish/work driven,etc to have a kid with Brad was that she expected to be pregnant in the year 2005. I know that tabloids in the year/2 years before were speculating that she would be pregnant (something also with her Friends character having a baby).
And Brad denied that rumor (that she wouldn’t get pregnant) months before she did in her VF interview–with his Diane Sawyer interview. He straight up said it was BS.
I agree with the rest of your comment–men get to go their entire careers without ever being asked that–majority of them, unless they’re someone like George Clooney, whose love life was sort of tabloid-y.
And I think Brad Pitt sailed through because Jennifer assigned all of the blame publicly on Angelina, while saying Brad didn’t do anything.
Thank you so much for posting. I agree 100%. Perception is so interesting, I read that VF piece back then, and, aside from some pretty normal LA speak (“gathering of the tribe,” etc.), she seemed like a woman sad her marriage ended. The article didn’t seem like a hit piece to me.
I was working at a newsroom at the time in L.A. and Brad’s PR People worked overtime on him NOT getting the brunt of the fallout and Angelina’s PR people were also planting stories too according to some people who wrote articles around that time on the subject.
I think the plan was to keep Brad golden and Angelina take the brunt of it from public.
No VC. The blame was assigned to two people. Jennifer for failing to do everything in her power to KEEP Brad. And to Angelina for STEALING Brad. As if that crusty old weed head was some kind of magnificent prize.
If I could have just one wish to spend on celebrity-land it would be that Jennifer and Angelina finally figure out that they have both just been pawns. They probably both think they just made the best use of the cards they were dealt, but they shouldnt have been dealt those cards in the first place. Give me a Liz Taylor/Debbie Reynolds ending please.
I love this comment, but take cover girl! Why is the man never to blame? Brad is looking like an old billy goat these days, anyway.
@SSMN
How conveinient
@Someonestolemyname, who wrote: “The stories about her not wanting babies came up during the split, rumours surfaced later that it was planted by other PR people wanting to demonise Jenn for the reason for the split. … I was working at a newsroom at the time in L.A. and Brad’s PR People worked overtime on him NOT getting the brunt of the fallout and Angelina’s PR people were also planting stories too according to some people who wrote articles around that time on the subject.”
Oh my … I smell Ian Halperin’s book. Angie didn’t ‘have’ “PR people” at the time of Jen and Brad’s split. That sort of makes what was said “according to some people who wrote articles around that time on the subject” rather pale, huh?
I respectfully disagree. Jennifer knew, when Brad left, that the marriage was over and basically admitted in the Vanity Fair(?) article that the marriage was in trouble as early as 2004 and she knew it was over. Even her friend CC said the same thing. Jennifer advised Brad to go out and have an affair with Angie and get her out of his system, which he didn’t and can’t seem to do, as he married the woman. So how is she the woman “scorned”? I admit she was hurt and more embarrassed than anything, but scorned? No way. Especially if you’re only taking 2% of the blame for the failure of the marriage. I do agree Brad skates through this whole mess untouched. Jennifer and her friends have always gone after Angie, which I don’t understand, since it was Brad who left the marriage and chased after Angie. Even to this day, Aniston states she’s proud of Brad. As I mentioned earlier, if she were to emphatically state the ship done sailed on children, marriage or anything else, there would be no further discussion. But she constantly invites these questions because she doesn’t want to upset the MV. And people who are always quoting Angie? Don’t believe it. These “sources” are only the imagination of people with stories to write.
I think the comment about “going and getting it out of his system” indicates that Aniston probably felt that Pitt was going through a classic “I just hit 40” mid-life crisis. And that by saying that, she was probably trying to remove half the appeal of having an affair, ie: the danger, the excitement of clandestinity, the illicit, the heady feeling of a new infatuation etc. Statistically, very few men end up marrying the women they’re having an affair with when they get divorced because once “real life” sets in, all of that excitement is gone and that’s really why they were having an affair. And generally, the chemical rush of infatuation only lasts for 6 months on average, which is coincidentally the average length of an affair as well.
No shade from me for her saying that…she obviously felt that it WAS a passing thing, that he WOULD get it out of his system and that they loved each other enough that he would come back to her.
Judging from recent comments about “fidelity not being important” and the widespread belief, even amongst their die-hard fans, that the Jolie-Pitts have an open marriage, these two seem to have gone down the same path somewhere along the line.
@Alice who wrote: “Judging from recent comments about “fidelity not being important” and the widespread belief, even amongst their die-hard fans, that the Jolie-Pitts have an open marriage, these two seem to have gone down the same path somewhere along the line.”
What you talking about, Willis? Brad’s answer to Jen was “I can’t do that and ‘still be married.'”
Perhaps. But Jolie was quoted as saying a couple of years back or so that “fidelity wasn’t important”. That seems pretty clear to me.
Actually Alice, that is false. Angelina NEVER made that comment. Grazia, a German magazine, made it up. She never gave any such interview. Yet people believe every bad thing they read about her, yet give Aniston the benefit of the doubt all the time. Even when she actually truly does do an interview. Why?
You are missing the point. Aniston was NOT the woman scorned, there was no affair. Its only Aniston fans who perpetuate that tabloid lie, to excuse Aniston’s part in the divorce. The photoshoot was a promo for Mr & Mrs Smith. It was work. It was their job. They had no choice in it, all actors have to do promo shoots. Angelina said the kids can see where there parents fall in love, get married, and then try to kill each other. That was the full actual quote. She was talking about the character, not them themselves. But Aniston fans have to demonize Brad and Angelina to make Aniston look good and absolve her of any blame in her own marriage.
@Alice: I don’t know where in the world you got that from, but I have never heard a fan of either Bead or Angie saying they have an “open relationship”. If you are going by that Grazia story, you should be aware that Grazia is notorious for making up bullshit out of thin air. No reputable blog would quote them on anything.
@jumpy…good choice of nick… There were persitent rumours well before the split announcement concerning Jolie and Pitt on the set of MAMS. Pretty sure Aniston’s fans weren’t at the root of those. There was an article prior to the split about Aniston going to London to see Pitt and coming back without her wedding ring on, also prior to the split. Doubtful that her fans were behind that either. The rumours of cheating were well under way while Pitt and Aniston were still married, which Jolie addressed a week after the official announcement with the “I was just a shoulder to cry on” thing, quoted in here somewhere. I think blaming those rumours on “Aniston fans” post split is wishful thinking when even Jolie acknowledged they were out there before Jan. 2005.
Also, you do realize that Pitt was the person behind that photo shoot, yes? He owns the rights. There was no promo obligation involved, that was all him.
@janet: i’ve actually seen many comments here over time about them having an open marriage as I’m sure you probably have as well if you’ve spent any time reading here. Not to mention the “She and Jack would be so HOT as a couple” or the Paradis bashing that went on along with the “Angie is totally going to dump Brad for Depp, yay!” stuff that was going on during the filming of The Tourist, also on this site. Google it, it’s not that hard to find if you need a reminder.
Alice, again, tabloids. You read she was spotted without a ring, so you jump to conclusions and in your mind fill in the pieces/blanks based on other things you have read. Most Aniston apologists do the same thing. Aniston said many times over 2 decades that flying makes her fingers swell, hence her wedding ring being off. Perhaps also, adding to her fear of flying. Very understandable. I also have 2 friends who have the same problem. Luckily, I don’t when I fly. But it does affect some people like that.
And yes there were rumors, but there are ALWAYS rumors. There were rumors that Angelina was having an affair with Johnny Depp. At the same time of their split, there were rumors that Aniston was with Vince Vaughn. There are always rumors. But its a fact that the rumors were upped a notch when Aniston and Pitt split. Many tabloids and Aniston fan groups were spreading the rumor that Pitt and Jolie had an affair. Aniston fanned the flames with her VF interview, and later, when she signed Team Aniston t shirts. Its clear that the Aniston camp were behind the rumors, at least post split, of an affair. Anything to demonize Brad and for their idol Aniston to emerge unscathed.
Nevermind the fact that Aniston and C.C admitted that Pitt had told Aniston he had an attraction to his costar. He came right out and told Aniston. He wouldn’t have, if he was having an affair. Aniston’s response? She wanted him to have an affair, ‘get it out of his system’ and come back to her. But he could not do that. He could not do that to her (Aniston). So, he left. The thing is, by C.C’s own admission, he was TOTALLY UPFRONT. He didn’t go behind her back. Yet she was all “I was shocked, THE WORLD WAS SHOCKED”. And she was only “2 percent to blame” etc etc. They were setting the scenes for Brad to be the fall guy in the marriage. Aniston through him under the bus, from day one. Then fanned the flames of the “Team Aniston” tshirt saga, that became a 9 year long vendetta.
Btw, there have been many comments on here and in tabloids of Aniston being pregnant. If true, she would have given birth 112 times by now. People spreading lies does not equate to an open relationship. Brad showed his true colours regarding open marriages when he REFUSED to have affair, like Aniston suggested. He clearly is not that type of person. I’ve seen so so sooooooo many people repeat that debunked Grazia article as if it were true. Yet, if the same was about Aniston, no doubt you would not believe the article. Fact is, Angelina said she never even gave Grazia that interview. And the rest, they hobbled together from old interviews/articles. If the Grazia interview was about Aniston, would you have believed it? We know the answer to that.
PS yes, he collaborated, but in the end it was the Director’s decision, and the Director said he wanted a family atmosphere, as a contradiction to the movie.
@Alice, who wrote: “There was an article prior to the split about Aniston going to London to see Pitt and coming back without her wedding ring on, also prior to the split. Doubtful that her fans were behind that either.”
I think you’re confusing Jen’s men. There was an article about Jen going to London to visit boyfriend Vince Vaughn (they were together from summer 2005 to December 2006) wearing an engagement ring and leaving without it (Vince wasn’t amused by the PR stunt as he hadn’t proposed to her). Could you post a link to the story about Jen visiting ‘Brad’ in London and coming back without her wedding ring?”
I’m childfree and while I agree with her, there is still one taboo that comes with not wanting kids. I sometimes notice that when women talk about not wanting children, they still need to throw in that they still “love children and mother in other ways.” I wish more CF women would admit that they just aren’t the mothering type. It’s ok to be a woman and not associate with that word. I certainly don’t.
Or it could be option:
c) I’d make a great parent but I simply don’t want kids.
I have at least three friends that love kids, are great with their nieces and nephews, but simply don’t want kids of their own.
Still, child-free people shouldn’t have to explain their choices to anyone.
+1
I happily tell people I don’t like kids all the time.
“Oh, you don’t want kids? Why ever not?”
“Because they’re sticky gross snot-rockets and I have no interest in harboring a parasite for nine months only to blow a fortune on it over the course of the next eighteen years. I’d rather go to Tahiti.”
That’s cool. But i’m always confused when I hear that from people =not ‘liking’ kids. Like they are a different species. Kids are also humans. And many of those same people will say ‘my dog is like my baby; it is my family, b/c animals love you unconditionally’ etc etc.
It’s strange b/c a dog or animal remains dependent on its caregiver for LIFE and it’s about needing the human for survival, so it’s not very unconditional at all. And then many of these same folks dress their animals like people, in clothing, furniture, food, birthday parties with party favors and other guest dogs, etc.
But, they don’t ‘like’ kids.
Not what you are saying, but the part about not liking kids reminded me of that. And if a pet is not allowed somewhere, they will say ‘oh kids are so much dirtier’. Um, they don’t walk on all fours without shoes on the sidewalk, etc and lick their own buts. Not quite the same, IMO. And they eventually grow out of the few years of putting things in their mouths, get potty trained, etc. While pets need to be cleaned up after for a lifetime.
That said, I also don’t get people with no boundaries and wondering why someone doesn’t want kids. But, people without kids by choice sometimes act like they are somehow superior [i’ve seen this attiude, and i have never asked anyone, nor do i care if someone wants kids], calling folks with kids ‘breeders’, while they themselves have dogs. It’s a weird state in society lately, imo.
I think with Aniston, the truth is somewhere in the middle. People speculated about her, and her PR fed into that for awhile. She may also have not been sure herself when she first talked about it. Or thought she might later….who knows. But even if she did use it for PR, she’s no different than most other actors who use speculation or details about their personal and family lives as a means to sell and PR tool. [just like jolie-pitts do].
I do have a pet, and I do love her lots, but she is a cat, not a person. She doesn’t have a people name nor does she wear people clothes nor do I expect others to tolerate her as they would a fellow people (if someone comes into my home and doesn’t like cats/animals, I put her in the bedroom, for instance). I know the kind of person you’re talking about, and even though I don’t treat my cat like a kid, I do understand their reason for acting like they do. It’s because the childfree are treated like second class citizens, for the most part. People with kids expect everyone to kowtow to their spawn and will often ask, usually quite rudely, that someone without kids do something outside the norm in order to accommodate their crotchfruit.
For example: I was recently at brunch and a woman with two kids asked my guy and I to move tables because we “didn’t need the space” and she wanted the place where our butts were to put diaper bags, etc. This was a busy restaurant where everyone had to wait for at least an hour to be seated and moving tables was not going to be as simple as snapping our fingers and swapping places. She didn’t ask the people on the other side of her to move (who had one child with them), she asked us. Because we didn’t have kids and it would be “so easy” for us to accommodate her. That is the kind of thing that makes me want to get a small dog and carry it around like a baby and demand that everyone bend and scrape to make my dog-tot comfortable.
I ❤ you Algernon! 😃
I have dogs but they are way too big to carry anywhere. They are not my babies but they are members of my family. And a lot easier than babies. I don’t know what sort of pets people in this thread have but I don’t have to clean after my dogs, they learnt to do their business outside in a few months. Babies use nappies for years.
Also my dogs do what they are told and know what is not allowed. They never tell me that they hate me and are crazy happy with just an old sock filled with newspaper or something. No need to buy 800$ smart phones to make them love me.
Oh Algernon hahaha! Me toooooooooo! I also tell people that I’d rather have lovely trips, dine out when we want, and have a stylish wardrobe (call me a snob if you want, but I do enjoy wearing nice clothing!).
P.S. I have NO doubt that taking care of my 2 cats is a millions times easier than taking care of 1 kid.
I have no problem at all with people who do not want to have children. Your life, your choice.
I have a huge problem with people who call children disgusting and dehumanizing names like “crotchfruit.”
Don’t worry, I freely admit that I am not the mothering type (30 year old woman here who doesn’t want kids). The thought of having to take care of another human being who is completely dependent upon you for EVERYTHING is absolutely UNAPPEALING to me.
🙂
I am asked constantly * when are you getting married again?*
I am divorced – happily for 11 years. Been engaged 3 times. Called off first two engagements.
My children are now 16 and 21. I mostly got married because i wanted a family. I have two healthy children; and frankly i do not want to give up my freedom at 46.
Most marriages are a disaster, and couples stay together for financial gain, not love.
I am told i will die old and alone. Most women die alone anyway -even if they are married-women are widowed.
I value my partner, whom i have known since i was 7 years old. We are best friends,loyal and passionate. He is very kind to my children. I am thankful for his commitment.
BTW, i forgot about Jen’s womb. She has paved her own bumpy, successful path-admire her tenacity.
Ugh. Her “talking points” are always complaints about how unfairly she is treated. She has such a victim stance. She should just stop answering those questions or find a brief, repetitive answer that makes people stop asking. I don’t think she ever has anything interesting to say, which is why the questions are always about her looks, her boyfriends, and her womb. She needs to rewrite the dialogue but I don’t know that she really cares to.
I’ve always found her a little on the defensive side not wanting to get too personal therefore the hair, boyfriend whatever. Personally I don’t look to actors for their views on politics or world affairs etc. She was more open prior to her divorce.
And don’t forget her stories about yoga and what it does for her body. She will give an interview and then go off on a tangent. . . like calling Vogue(?) tabloidy for printing exactly what was said.
Spot on Josephine.
I think it’s hilarious when people label people who chose not to have children as selfish. Having a child is one of the most selfish acts. People only have children for themselves, because they want to parent. It’s not about the child; it’s about themselves. So don’t give me that BS about people who chose not to have children being selfish.
+100000
My sister always says, “having a child is the ultimate vanity project.”
Believe it or not, some people have an innate desire to parent and enjoy children. Others I know who enjoy children decided to teach but forgo parenting. Some people find that having a family is part of their life’s path and creation, no different than being an artist, a chef, a lawyer, doctor etc.
Not everyone who has children is just blinding following societal norms and expectations. And not all parenting is made out of blind, subconscious projection, vanity or selfishness.
But folks can go ahead and create another 2 party system: selfish vs. non selfish, and assign one or the other to a category. It’s the american way.
Nuance and depth can take a back seat. lol.
Absolutely, plus infinity. Not having kids is actually the opposite of selfish.
I actually feel like “selfish” isn’t the right word here. To be selfish is to do things without consideration of others, to do things that are detrimental to others even, by not having a child, are you doing either of those things mentioned above? Nah!
You don’t HAVE to be a parent, your not wanting to be a parent won’t leave the world worse off in any way.
Likewise, becoming a parent isn’t a “selfish” thing to do as long as you are committed to doing right by your child. I just feel like “selfish” is the wrong word in both circumstances.
OMG, now the presence or absence of children defines you as selfish or not?
Get a grip on a little logic.
yeah… you can’t really call people out for saying that people who don’t want to have kids are “selfish” while simultaneously saying that people who do have kids are “selfish.”
both camps need to chill the f out. have kids, or don’t. no one should feel free to meddle in your business either way.
Yeah, it’s selfish to have kids for certain reasons, like to have a companion or to have someone to take care of you. But to say it’s selfish to have children is a little far fetched.
I do agree. What makes people so sure they must have children? And now with Facebook… oh my. It is taken to another level. Not saying there is anything wrong with having children, of course, but I do agree it becomes a bit of a vanity project. Of course, most people care about the child hopefully but it also fills something for them –
ps it is sad that Allure does not list acting or new movie as one of the things Aniston talks about on cover! Talk about needing some feminism…
Using that logic, you could pretty much say everything we as humans do is selfish. Get married or have a relationship? Selfish. Have friends? Selfish. Find a job that you enjoy and fulfills you? Selfish.
Some parents are selfish. Some parents aren’t. Some people who choose not to have kids are selfish people, some aren’t.
Basically, how about we stop labeling and generalizing large groups of people?
Yeah this. People can have children for selfish reasons, such as wanting a companion, wanting someone to take care of them when they get older, or to save a relationship. That doesn’t mean everyone who has children is selfish.
Excellent comment MrsB, I completely agree with you. The OP made a ridiculous statement.
From now on, I am only using pictures of myself that are ten years old or more! Fantastic idea…lol
Justin is soooo loyal! I’m sure thats what Heidi Bivens would say, too…
LOl at the pics – yes! i’m pulling out all the ones from college where i was way thinner with way better skin. haha
and i agree, that was sort of an embarrassing/awkward thing to say about justin.
Is there any particular reason why her right breast is prominently featured in both Allure pictures? Is the right breast the “in” body part this year? Does she consider her right breast her best attribute? Will showcasing her right breast help her get that Oscar?
It’s the Mariah Carey of boobs?
What is the right boob’s opinion on comets, fish heads, and other relevant issues of our time?
It doesn’t answer questions, it just looks pretty.
It looks like it has been airbrushed within an inch of its life.
^See above^ Mariah Carey boob, duh. lol
I made the mistake once in asking my mother if she was having another baby( she had eaten pasta for lunch!) She was not impressed and told me it is not polite to ask a woman personal questions like that. If I was meant to know I would be told.
I don’t understand why simple life lessons like that were never told to some people.
Haha, when one of my brother’s friends was about 11/12 years old, his mom told him and his little brother that she was having a baby…his response was “Oh, that’s why you’re getting fat.”…I would’ve smacked him in the back of the head for that…..
LOL!
She is 100% right + I love the cover. She looks healthy and glowing. Go girl.
WORD.
You know that photo is about ten years old, don’t you?
It’s new. Just visit allure site and check it.
Sorry, I’m not buying it. I think Allure dug that one out of its archives.
Janet, you must be exhausted. Lol
I thought the answer about pregnancy and children sounded fine, because she seemed to talking about the different kinds of circumstances that might affect why some women don’t have children. And what she said is true — there are many different kinds of factors that affect why some women have children and others don’t.
Also, I agree that she and other women shouldn’t be seen as failures because they didn’t have children. It doesn’t really matter to me whether someone said they wanted children or not in the past — the end result of not having children shouldn’t be seen as a failure just because someone might have said in a previous interview they wanted to have them. I thought the answer was good because it pointed to a larger systemic problem — of pointing a finger at women and finding a reason to say they failed at something. That notion of failure seems to be put on women even when you haven’t invited them in — I don’t think Cameron Diaz ever invited anybody in, and I notice she has to give the same kind of answer (i.e I am not a failure because I did not have children).
Yeah–while her answer was generalizing, I think she was talking about herself…because, to the media at least, she has not finished the end of the narrative that she wrote ten years ago i.e. marriage and kids. She’s sorta kinda close.
If I was her, I’d just ban the question all together, and if they ask me, then I’d tell them that I’m not answering the question. I think if every woman does that, then they won’t be asked anymore.
She can ban the questions. She answers them because she wants to.
Honestly, I don’t blame her for the answers she gave in 2005. Wasn’t she only 35 or so when she gave that interview? At that age, most people still hold out the belief that they might get married and have kids (even if the person has “issues,” which I think she might have considering what her parents were like). Part of that might because of what society puts in our heads about what a certain dream life is supposed to look like; the other might be …somewhat biological, in the sense of seeing what other people have and copying it.
If she had given the interview at 40, I suspect her answers might have been different. I think 35 is still a more hopeful age that marriage (at the very least) can still happen. So, in that sense, I don’t think her answers were really weird, given her age at the time she gave the interview. Sure, 35 isn’t 25, but it isn’t 50 either, where the answer is pretty clear that you will now definitely not be able to have children whatsoever. I think it’s also more in Aniston’s current age where you can see how your past answers in your 30s might come back to haunt you. But I feel the 30s are a bit more flexible in the kinds of answers you can give, and I figured that’s why she answered the way she did in 2005.
I think she felt more secure in being with Justin–which is when she started giving these sorts of answers about how sexist it is about asking a woman about marriage and babies, and pressure. Before Justin, she was always sort of joking about having kids (or not having kids), and was a little more laid back (in tone) about it. I mean, she insisted that they were coming soon, that she really wanted them, but she hadn’t gone the sexist and narrow minded route (which it is, but….).
I’m just glad she gave a coherent, non eyeball gazing answer about feminism.
But Perplexed, she did make a similar statement when she was 40. She said something like “People expect to see me in the kitchen barefoot and pregnant, relax, it’s going to happen” not even 4 years ago. So of course she will continue to get these questions. She has a different opinion about it now, and that’s her right, but she shouldn’t blame ppl for what she help perpetuate over the past decade now that that narrative no longer works for her.
“I think 35 is still a more hopeful age that marriage (at the very least) can still happen. So, in that sense, I don’t think her answers were really weird, given her age at the time she gave the interview.”
Absolutely.
I’m 35 and when I get asked the baby questions I just answer honestly: “I don’t know.”
“I don’t know” means just that–I don’t know. Maybe I will and maybe I won’t. Undecided.
I have a friend who is now 43 she doesn’t want children, says she enjoyes her life fine, but she told me at 28 she was considering the thought of having a child, but once she got past 40, she just didn’t want children anymore.
I can totally see Jenn having different answers at different times in her life.
Couldn’t agree more Perplexed! When I was 35 I really wanted to get married and have kids with my boyfriend at the time–I always thought I would have kids. He then blindsided me and broke up with me so it took me a long time to get over it. When I finally started dating again things just changed. I liked my life, my hobbies etc. Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.
Also, I don’t think Jennifer Aniston would’ve done that Vanity Fair interview if Brad Pitt hadn’t been photographed on a beach with Angelina and Maddox right after they separated or did that OBNOXIOUS W photo shoot. When I read that VF interview that was clearly a woman at her boiling point.
Yes, she did suggest at 40 she would be barefoot and pregnant one day. She’s surrounded by examples of peers who did so–eg Holly Hunter gave birth for the first time to twins at 47, Geena Davis had a child at 46 and twins at 48. Maybe she hasn’t given up yet, maybe she’s ambivalent. My inclination is to think this is not a PR game, but of course I can’t say for sure.
@Teri: Brad didn’t get pictured with Angelina until 4 months after they announced their separation.
And also that shoot was for a movie promotion.
More importantly when Jennifer did that interview – she was sleeping with Vince Vaughn and has been before Brad was pictured with Angelina.
Lastly – Jennifer the hypocrite cannot really say anything. Not only did she cheat with Justin for months – she actually introduced him as her boyfriends 6 months before he officially broke up with his ex Heidi. And it’s Jennifer who is missing the sensitivity chip because SHE released pictures of her being with Justin one week after Heidi moved out.
So do cut the bs about Jennifer being scorned etc – A woman who was cheated on will never do it to another woman. Jennifer wasn’t cheated on but she definetely cheated with Justin.
Terri you are correct, the Beach photos were paparazzi photos of Brad and Angelina spending time, on the Beach in Africa, they were paparazzi photos not promotional photos. the British press first printed them as “gotcha” Exclusives and then the next day or a few days later the US press ran them as exclusives in the US…..but it was April and even when the beach photos were released, Brad’s peeps still denied the romance and said that they weren’t anything more than friends…….april something 2005 the Paparazzi beach photos appeared , capturing them on the beach together
@someonestolemyname—
No, Teri is NOT correct.
Your timeline of actual events are OFF.
Brad/Aniston announced separation January 2005. Aniston filed divorce papers in March 2005. By the way, you can DATE when you are LEGALLY SEPARATED. Filming for Mr. And Mrs. Smith was still ongoing until May 2005. FACT.
The W photoshoot spread was completed in April 2005. The PURPOSE of the shoot was to promote a film, which subsequently became very popular and made a lot of money. Somehow, Jenhens and the neurotic Aniston made it about her. Apparently, she was still sensitive and in her feelings about mourning the loss of her marriage, right? Ergo she narrates with “Brad, is missing a sensitivity chip.” Pictures surface of Brad playing on the beach with Maddox while Angie watches. On Oprah she gasps and exclaims, “I was shocked, the whole world was shocked!” Again, she focuses the attention back to her.
She is so sensitive and thoughtful… so she begins dating the CO-STAR of Mr. and Mrs. Smith– VINCE VAUGHN. Nice. There are photos of her straddling him on a balcony making out. When asked of his opinion , Brad states “Congratulations and good luck, man!”
It is now August 2005, a few months later, and the infamous Vanity Fair magazine article is released. Aniston is dating Vaughn, yet she over-indulges, with her friend Courtney Cox’s assistance, about her troubled, dead-end marriage. According to her, it was a relationship that had run its course. The interviewer brings up Angie’s name, the rumors of her pregnancy– and Aniston cries. Then she mentions she laughs at an email a friend sent her of a picture blowing up Angie with a bomb. There is nothing classy about sharing your hate in public to the public. (See the two Sony execs with their hacked emails.)
Even though there existed a lot of public routing for funnyman Vince and Jen to walk down the aisle given their year and a half time together- Vince ended that relationship. Truth is the the other couple has stood the test of time and heavy turbulence- death, sickness, vicious gossip.
Do not blame the tabloids. Most of us do not read tabloids. Aniston has given us plenty just by her hypocritical admissions and sad, vindictive post-divorce behavior. There has been nothing classy about it.
@Josephina …
Agreed. Very well said.
She really is the Queen of poor pity me.
It’s always like – poor me my husband left me, poor me people call me unattractive, poor me people are critizing me for not having children, poor me people aren’t giving me more opportunities in the drama field, poor me I have to exercise daily to look bikini perfect etc
Seriously – she is the opposite of what I would call a strong, influential role model for feminism. She always sounds needy and whines about everything.
She is the master of PR games and I really really hope one day – the games she and her agent plays will be outed.
As for loyal Justin – let’s hope he is not as loyal as he was to poor Heidi. Or that he is better at protecting Jennifer than he ever did with Heidi.
PS: again this woman strips off to get attention. It’s not necessary to show your body every single time to get attention.
PPS: how about letting the others in the movie shine. It’s always about her for this movie and she desperately wants these nominations.
+1
You know what else is so funny? Her “boyfriend” would kill her if she did something to her face. . . shading all her friends who have had plastic surgery. This is not her original face and everyone knows it, yet they play around with the gag. And she was not a woman at her boiling point. She was humiliated and nothing else. So is she prepared to forgive Heidi for stepping out with Justin and for sleeping with Vince while still legally married? Guess this does not apply to Aniston. But it does apply for everyone else. And don’t you know? There are no other people in Cake. If you listen to her, she’s the only one (or at least the only one that matters). I find it strange how she can get nominated for anything when practically no one had seen a viewing of the movie and it sat undistributed for weeks.
+1 to the above 2 excellent comments.
…….and yet she somehow manages to insert her womb into every interview.
Exactly!
I’m just going to put it out there that in the interviews I have seen of other awards-contending actresses this year, although Anniston has been in far more interviews, people don’t seem to be asking Julianne Moore and Amy Adams and Felicity Jones and Reese Witherspoon and Marion Cotillard and others if they plan to add to their families or what their families are doing. Anniston should have shut those questions down years ago but she did encourage them.
I don’t think actresses with families would get the same kind of question as an actress who has never had children, or at least not to the same degree. I’ve never thought of Cameron Diaz as ever expressing an interest in marriage and children, yet for some reason she seems to have to field the same questions.
I’m not saying Aniston didn’t open up the issue a bit (although I do think the question got opened up because Pitt’s camp put it out there that she didn’t want children), but I really don’t think Reese Witherspoon, with her 3 kids (which is considered ideal and who really wants more than that except the Duggars?), would get the same kinds of questions about having kids like the women who have never had children at all because she’s seen as already fulfilling her role to society or whatever. Witherspoon and the rest are probably seen has having already done their “duty” of procreating. Any questions about adding to the family could be asked, but I don’t think they’d be asked with the same frequency, because they’ve already fulfilled the “ideal” of having a family and kids.
Do you know for a fact that it was the Pitt camp who put “it out there” and not Aniston herself?
Jolie was quoted at the time (that January) as saying:
“Half the world believes we had an affair and I’m the one to blame for his split. But the truth is I was there to try to help him through his pain. He longs to be a father and he’s been in emotional turmoil for a long time because that hasn’t happened for him”.
I believe this is where the whole “Pitt left Aniston because she wouldn’t give him babies” thing started. Reinforced by that W “happy, not so happy family” photo shoot, the rushing off to Ethiopia to pick up Zahara (whose birthday, has anyone else noticed, is the same day as the announcement of the Aniston-Pitt separation), etc etc. And the whole “being a Dad, having a family” narrative has never stopped.
My personal opinion is that it was carefully orchestrated to make Pitt come out of the whole thing looking like he was the victim of his “selfish career driven wife” who wouldn’t give him babies the minute he decided he wanted them because you know, women aren’t supposed to have ambition.
Flash forward several years and he’s giving interviews about how he spent a decade sitting on the couch getting stoned. Honestly, does that sound like good father material and someone who is ready to take on the responsibility of kids? We’ve got no idea whether or not Aniston laid down conditions like “get your shit together” before going down that road, I know that personally, I would have.
I’m completely with Dean McDermott’s ex-wife on the subject… “He’s a knob, but he’s your knob now”.
I’ve never understood the whole narrative about Pitt being some sort of “prize”. It seems pretty clear to me that should he and Jolie ever split, he’ll be dishing out the same sort of treatment with a different story line to her too.
That is absolute rubbish! The Aniston camp spread the lie that the Pitt camp put out children rumors, when the rumors were out from the moment they married. Heck, Aniston even mocked the rumors with the SNL skit, when they were only married for a year, PROVING that the rumors had nothing to do whatsoever with the Brad camp, since he and Aniston were HAPPILY married at that point, so how can it have been the Pitt camp? What, he started out rumors to attack his wife, that he was happily married to, at that point? How does that even make sense? It doesn’t. Its just another lie from The Aniston camp. The Aniston camp also are the ones who sent out rumors of an affair to demonize Brad, to take the heat off of Aniston. So she and her camp put all the blame on him, and made it look like the split was because he had an affair, so he would be the fall guy and she would get off scot free. Dirty tactics from the Aniston camp.
x100 million
Even Helen Mirren got children questions when she was doing promotional rounds for the Queen and the British press was downright mean and nasty about it.
Yes, but you also notice that those ladies don’t court the press for attention by talking about their hair, bodies or baby making abilities. They just ACT.
But Helen was still asked the question during the award season and some people were angry at her answers.
I don’t know, I’ve seen Reese talk about her body after having kids. I don’t think she’s an over-sharer or anything, and I don’t take issue with anything she’s said about her parenting, but she does talk a lot about her kids and her mothering skills. I hesitate to say it’s part of her branding, but I feel I know a lot about Ava, Deacon, and the other kid with the funnier name. Just the fact that I know the names of her kids suggests that she talks about them a fair bit, which means no one really needs to ask any questions because she’s already volunteering the information.
I think pretty much all actresses, even the ultra serious ones like Kate Winslet and Julianne Moore, have all discussed their bodies at some point.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with being selfish (if that is even the right word) to make time for your career and yourself before deciding to have children. Having children is wonderful, I know a lot of people who are amazing parents, however sometimes they have to sacrifice something, be it personal time, money, put dreams on hold, to prioritize the welfare of their families.
The thing is we still don’t know if she has tried to have children and perhaps had fertility issues. Some women that wait til post 35 to start trying may find they can’t get pregnant. We don’t know exactly why she doesn’t have children and its not fair to assume that she played like she wanted them as a ploy. She may have tried and it may have been unsuccessful.
^This. And she is in no way obligated to share this information, whether it’s infertility or simply a change of heart.
But then again maybe she just decided after a certain point, I don’t want children and there is NOT one thing wrong with that.
It does not necessarily need to be some health reason why some women don’t want kids.
Agree with you but I was making the point that its not really right to say she lied about wanting kids to help her career when we don’t know that to be the case. The lying about wanting a family just seems a far stretch. When it is probably a change of mind or maybe fertility issues.
Yes! Thank You! It’s my opinion she did/does want kids, but hasn’t been successful for whatever reason. Which is absolutely no one’s business. She just doesn’t seem like the type of person who would just straight up lie, and then perpetuate it for 10 years. How exhausting!
Her detractors think that if she did have problems conceiving, she would milk it for press and wouldn’t have made a joke about being pregnant in that Smart Water commercial. I don’t know, part of this makes sense, but part of me thinks that she would want to keep it private. I had terrible issues TTC and I kept a lot of it private and put on a brave face about it. Yes, her PR game is strong, but she is a human being and no, we don’t know every aspect of her life.
…….but then again maybe She JUST does not want kids and there is nothing wrong….
There are many women that are perfectly healthy and decide at some point they don’t want kids….period.
That’s the thing, someonestolemyname, we all realise she does not want children and never did. The point is, she should have been HONEST about it a long time ago! But she couldn’t because her minivan soccermoms would be disappointed. She doesn’t have the guts to admit it. If she did the decent thing and admitted she didn’t want kids all along instead of created and feeding this charade, it would be a moot (and mute) point.
This pops up every thread. Courteney Cox, her best friend, infamously had infertility issues. She set up a foundation or some such to ENCOURAGE woman to talk about it and not hide it. Her bff wanted to break the stigma of infertility, to break down the walls of silence. To get people to talk about it and not hide it in shame. If Aniston had any infertility issues, she would have TALKED about it, to break the stigma, to help C.C. Its more than safe to say Aniston has no fertility issues. If we did, she would have said so long long ago.
“Jennifer Aniston Talks About Marriage, Motherhood, Dogs, and (Yes!) Hair!”
This title just makes me sad. She’s been nominated for a Golden Globe, for pete’s sake. I’m not a huge fan of JA, but really, Allure? Here she is again, talking about marriage and hair? That’s all you’ve got? It goes to show how pigeon-holed JA is if the press knows those are the only subjects that will move magazines off shelves.
To be fair, Allure does ZERO articles of substance, it’s all beauty stuff. I got a free subscription for whatever reason and it’s interesting to look through but it’s mostly a guide to beauty products with a few tidbits of content thrown in.
I use to love ALLURE for their beauty products and beauty articles. Love it. Have purchased one in awhile though.
Doesn’t that say more about her fan base, though? They’re the ones who are buying these magazines. Evidently this is what they want to read about her. Hair, dogs, marriage, motherhood, etc.
Wow! Just – WOW!
I think you’re reaching. Other cover subjects have included Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Connolly, Rachel McAdams…and I don’t hear them getting ripped apart for every word out of their mouths supposedly being vapid or hair-related.
Esmom, I think that’s because those cover subjects are conversant on subjects that are neither vapid nor hair-related.
Janet, whatever you say, lol.
Exactly! Others are delusional. Aniston encourages this kind of talk, do you see Elizabeth Banks, Jennifer Connolly, Rachel McAdams talking about their hair and their hair products and babies continually? NO. Aniston talks about that, no other celeb does.
I got a free subscription to Allure for a while, and all the celebrity interviews are just fluff. They comment on pictures of what they wore at various events. This wouldn’t be a hard hitting interview, regardless of who was on the cover.
If people would take the time to actually read Aniston’s interviews when she does one, they would see that she recently remarked that “she did not want kids. Kids are messy.” Straight quote. Don’t remember where, but that did come out. And she mentioned many years ago, right after the Pitt split, that she may be godmother to Coco, CC’s child, but was definitely not a baby sitter. There is no shame in not wanting children. Just own it.
This woman is so boring!!
Lol
I know there are tons of filters at work here, but she looks really beautiful in these photos.
I think she has the right to change her mind about wanting children, and not receive criticism because at one point 15 years ago she talked about wanting children. If this is the question you’re asked all the time over the years, there are going to be lots of talking points on the topic . Kind of like how J Law was criticized for talking about her body when that was the line of questioning she constantly received.
It wasn’t 15 years ago. It was nine years ago. And eight years ago. And seven years ago. And four years ago. And two years ago.
She’s always said she wants kids, she’ll have them eventually, blah blah blah. She’s played the bump game on the red carpet. She’s actively encouraged the narrative that at just the right moment she’d pop a tot out and be America’s Soccer Mom Sweetheart. Now that she’s reached an age where that’s not so feasible, she’s changing her narrative.
She’s a woman of great means. If she really, truly wanted a child, there are many ways open to her. Heck, Charlize Theron, Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, and now Rosario Dawson all adopted as single mothers (for that matter, so did Angelina Jolie). If she wanted kids, she would have them. Period.
Oh come on. Just because some women decide that adoption is right for them doesn’t mean it’s the right solution for ALL single women.
You’re right, it’s not. There’s also IVF and surrogacy, which she easily has the means for, unlike many women with fertility troubles. I’m just saying, if she really, *really* wanted kids, she would have them. She has the money to make every option possible.
I could adopt, but it’s not the right thing for me. It’s also extremely difficult, and if my wealth made things easier that would concern me as their is a lot of corruption involved in adoption. It should be hard.
I could use a surrogate, but I have more than a few issues with the idea of renting out another woman’s body.
I could afford countless cycles of IVF, but my particular set of health problems make IVF and all other fertility treatments worse than useless.
Not everyone who wants children will do anything to have them. Lot’s of people just find out they can’t have children, grieve a bit for the life they wanted, then get on with the life they actually have. That someone makes their peace with the fact that they can’t have children doesn’t mean they never wanted them in the first place or that they didn’t really care either way.
@Jessica.
I think your take on procreation may be the closest to what Aniston may be feeling and has actually felt.
The fact remains her flip-flopping has made a lot of us feeling nauseated,… especially when we know there existed ways to squash the noise about motherhood or pregnancy. She courted the conversation because she was courting the attention- she should have been very selective about the TYPE of attention she was receiving. And she wasn’t. Anything related to Brad, Angie, children, hair, fitness, who she is dating—etc. – she commented on it.
And this is how we are able to spit back out what she has said, because she said it. And there ARE a lot of comments that she has made. No need to reference tabloids.
For example, she is selective about what she says about Justin. See the difference?
Ladies,let’s not get sucked into the Jennifer vortex. The stars are the ones that control the interview. Her PR people set the ground rule of what not to ask. It’s not like she wonders in daze off the street without her team and just let them ask random questions.
Jennifer must have last say on what can go to print. Most stars do. Or if the reporter tries to flip the script her PR team can threaten to stop the interview.
I’m so sick of her BS lost little lamb stick. She nearly 50 . She’s not a teen starlet just starting out and stop acting like one.
This! Finally, someone who sees through the bs.
A whole lot of people have seen through the BS.
The wool was pulled from my eyes from the Oprah interview in 2005.
I might have missed it, but when was the last time any one asked Jennifer about having a baby? Damn, in two months Jennifer will be 46 years old. Asking her about having a baby is old news. At forty six years old people should be asking her about a grand baby. IMO, Jennifer brings up the baby news to get people to talk about her, good or bad, it’s creates news and buzz for her.
Yes. The baby factory is closed. But that’s hoe she thinks. Jennifer wants to come off as a fresh young thing.
I’m 47 going through hot flashes and mood swings just like the women I know in my age group. I’m not going through menopause but I’m almost there.
Jen should stop the BS and promote healthy living during menopause.
It was open for Halle Berry….. at 48
Halle also said she was premenopausal when she miraculously got knocked up and that she didn’t think she could. The fact that you’re hanging your hat on such a rare instance says a lot about your weird over investment (and by the way olivier Martinez was living with halle…not 3000 miles away on another coast 90% of the time, lol)
Berry had IVF. The whole “being so surprised” thing was PR.
Muggles, I’m really not hanging my hat on Halle’s 48 yr old pregnancy.
I was basically saying it happens for some, I have an Aunt who had children in late 40’s and last one at 51, but she had 12 children total, I’m just saying it happens……
I really don’t care if Jen does or doesn’t…..
I am just saying the questions to women about giving birth, having babies, wanting babies are rude to those women. My friends in their 30’s and 40’s even one in her 50’s still gets questions….on it babies from people.
P.S. from rumours floating about Halle, she had IVF, it was just kept quiet, but really tht is her business too.
@Alice, who wrote: “Berry had IVF. The whole “being so surprised” thing was PR.”
No, it wasn’t. Halle briefly had a difficult time conceiving Nahla. She may have used IVF after Nahla was born because she and Gabriel didn’t want Nahla to be an only child. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), Halle didn’t get pregnant. Because of that, and being perimenopausal, Halle really did not think she could get pregnant and truly was surprised when she got pregnant with her son.
And after all these years she became an independent feminist woman who don’t need no children. Yeah, right. Can Jennifer’s PR team be any more obvious?
Anyway, at least she gave a proper definition of the word. Finally, one actress who cared to google the word before talking about it. Or her PR team did it for her. Whatever.
Why so defensive, Jen? Everytime you get asked about pregnancy and kids just say: “No, I dont want kids at this point in my life.” Done. Then you won’t get asked anymore.
Exactly! Be honest and say you have chosen not to have kids if that is your belief. People always respect a well thought out decision more than a wishy washy whine. That’s what irritates people about Jennifer Aniston. She wants people to respect her for her choice not to have kids without being brave enough to admit she has made that choice.
I think she’s afraid of losing her fan base if she admits she never wanted children. Who do you think is buying those tabloids with the fake pregnancy stories?
But what if she says that and then adopts in 6 months time or something. Would she be accused of lying.
Lets be honest. Aniston is NOT going to adopt. At any time. She has also said previously that adoption is not for her and not something she would consider. If I find the interview I will post it for you.
She just said she gets a lump in her throat about this subject— still.
Meaning that she is not as cavalier about this subject as her fans would like her to be. So no, she is not emotionally ready to speak about it. She has made jokes about it. She has performed skits about it. She has said “kids are messy.” This subject is clearly a thorn in her side. She expressed herself clearly- she does not like feeling like a failure because she did not make a child. Her examples of similar “births” did not hold any water.
She also said she did not like the pressure. What?!
Let’s be honest, Has she ever been IN a relationship, outside of Theroux, where having a child seemed right for her? Since 1997, I do not see anyone…
She said what I have been saying for a while in regards to reasons why people don’t have kids. I don’t think she would had said that jn 2005 because, back then, she thought she could have them or was not accepting that some poee want but can have them. We will never know and it is none of our business.
Why does Aniston always whine and complain? If she is really happy in her life right now, she would not be dwelling on negative things said about her. Besides, I don’t think she is being called out by mainstream media for not having kids at her age now., maybe in celebrity blogs and fan sites.
The fact that she seems so defensive about it, I get the feeling that personally she really wants her own child, and is feeling desperate about it, not being able to have one until now. the thing is she can’t seem to talk about it honestly that she is missing on something or lacking something in her life and pretends that she is ok with just her dogs around.
No one is calling her out or criticizing her for not having kids – that’s a line she’s come up with on her own. She’s the one who for years keeps telling the media and her fans, ” I want kids, and I will have kids” – because she knows that’s what her fans want to hear – then does nothing about it, because the truth is, she’s never wanted children. That’s a perfectly fine choice to make, no more selfish than having them; Aniston’s problem is she’s hasn’t been honest. She could end the talk for good by simply stating, ” I’m never having kids. Don’t want ’em.” That will never happen, as that statement would eliminate a big chunk of her media attention.
Actually although I do believe that Jennifer has played a role in this narrative there is not doubt that she has been criticized for not having children. The narrative is that Brad left her because she would not have children. She was definitely criticized and called out for that. And yes she has been criticized for putting her career ahead of having children. So no she didn’t come up with this on her own. In fact her marriage failure according to tabloids and poster her on this site was mostly due to the fact that she did not have children and if she would have had said children Brad would never have left her. The other thing is that people do change. Some don’t want children and decide years later to have them. others want them and as life goes on decide differently. And the truth is that most see a woman as a failure if she doesn’t have children. Not fulfilled, sad, selfish. Really sad.
Yeah, didn’t Eva Longoria wear that “I’ll have your kids, Brad” t-shirt?
Yep, that was so gross.
All of that is gossip. Aniston is living her real life. The tabloid junk that you read in not real.
She is the one responsible for what happens in her life. How exactly did gossip have a play in her bedroom? Babies have been birthed through the most arduous and amazing circumstances ALL the time. Just ask any mother.
Even a “no decision” IS a decision. It is called procrastination. Time is the great equalizer and it waits for no one.
Brad did something about his dreams to become a father and look how happy he is.
My take is that Aniston has not been in a relationship where she was comfortable and CONFIDENT enough to make a child. She has had money, fame and fun. But has she had someone really special to share it with? No.
Justin is about as good as it is going to get for her.
AB, you have to be fair, there is venom on both sides. And IMO, fans of Jennifer from FF first comes here in droves to disrespect Angelina all the time. If you see the venom from Angelina’s fans I’m sure you have seen the venom from Jennifer’s fans, so be fair in your comment.
Well, the choices are limited. You got her hair, her body or when she will have a baby. She really doesn’t speak on much else.
And the congregation says “Amen”.
If she actually came out and said she has chosen not to have kids then people could show her they respect her for that decision. But she always hedges her bets: she MIGHT be trying but can’t get pregnant, she MIGHT have wanted kids but missed her chance. Roll models are the people like Oprah Winfrey or Cameron Diaz or Ellen Degeneres/Portia De Rossi who are open and honest about not wanting to have kids. People don’t blame Cameron Diaz and say she is selfish not having kids. Likewise, there are role models for women having trouble getting pregnant: Jimmy Fallon’s wife has been honest about her use of a surrogate. Nicole Kidman admitted every month she hopes she’s pregnant but she’s not. Hugh Jackman and his wife were open about their struggles to have kids. Jennifer Aniston’s problem is that she refuses to address the issue head on. We are supposed to simultaneously feel sorry for her that she “maybe” can’t get pregnant but also admire her that she “maybe” purposefully chooses not to have children. It’s like she wants sympathy/credit for both.
And she did promote the baby talk. How about when she complained that all these possible pregnancy stories were stealing her thunder for when she really does announce her pregnancy? Or the good old “I did, I do and I will” line?
Um, maybe she genuinely just doesn’t know?
I never understand why this concept is so difficult for people to grasp.
I change my mind about having kids constantly.
Not all of us were born knowing that we want a husband and a bunch of kids-some of us are just figuring it out as we go along.
+1 Kitten ,
She truly may have felt different things at different times and voiced that.
And it’s nobody’s business the reason it hasn’t happened. Maybe it’s a private pain.
“and she did promote the baby talk. How about when she complained that all these possible pregnancy stories were stealing her thunder for when she really does announce her pregnancy? Or the good old “I did, I do and I will” line?”
oh yeah, she did say in her interview just recently that she does not want media to steal her thunder and that she would be the one to announce if indeed she is pregnant. and that was her only complaint that time. now she is changing her tune.. becoming more defensive.
i kind of thought she wanted them, or thought she wanted them (kids) when she was younger, so maybe that’s how the conversation was shaped in the beginning. conversations can then get away from you… you cant field questions then suddenly say you dont want to talk about it without getting a rep as a rude interview, right? or maybe i just want to defend rachel green.
also – i sometimes think her PR team put stories out and i think it’s a little unfair to put that entirely on her shoulders and act like she’s some sort of PR mastermind.. she’s one of the most famous women in the world, she has a team to do that.
Why would she discourage the rumors, when she knows the constant speculation over her fake “baby bumps” is about the only thing that is keeping her face on magazine covers?
Considering when he left Jen she was being attacked as she wouldn’t give him children and only cared about her career, she had to defend herself. And I’m sure sure thought she would have children when she met someone else. And for all we know, she’s now being trying with Justin, but it didn’t happen and it’s not our business. Or maybe at her age and his, it didn’t happen and are okay with it one way or the other or in mid 40s doesn’t that kind of desire.
I really think if she wanted children, she would have either had or adopted at least one by now. That she hasn’t done either, especially adoption, says volumes.
I’m not judging her for not having children; that’s her business, and if she’s happy the way she is, then good for her. But it’s rather two-faced to 1) keep encouraging false baby bump stories, and then 2) blame everyone for rude and inquisitive inquiries on the state of her womb. Don’t you think?
@Janet As it has already been mentioned in this thread not everybody wants to adopt. Also some people can’t get pregnant no matter how many rounds of IVF they have. You are basically saying that if you didn’t have children you didn’t really want them and that is a really nasty and hurtful thing to say to all the people who struggle with fertility issues.
MP I am not talking about all childless people, I am talking about this childless person who has made her womb the focus of attention for the past ten years. She could have put a stop to all those fake baby bump stories whenever she chose to but she didn’t because it kept her face on the tabloid covers. If you cannot have children, and don’t want to adopt, fine — but in that case, you don’t really want a child. I’m not talking about the thousands of families who have tried and failed to adopt a child. With her fame and her connections she could have adopted a child any time she wanted to. (I used to work in adoption and believe me, fame and connections can get you to the top of the wait list. It shouldn’t be that way but it is.) Again, the bottom line is, if she doesn’t want children, that’s her business, but man up — or woman up, in this case — and say flat out “I don’t want children, I’m happy with my life the way it is, and I am never going to discuss this subject again.”
” If you cannot have children, and don’t want to adopt, fine — but in that case, you don’t really want a child.”
I agree Janet. With Jennifer Aniston’s money and connections, if JA wanted kids but physically couldn’t have them she’d definitely be able to adopt or use a surrogate. The fact that she doesn’t means she doesn’t want to have kids. Spin it however she wants that’s the bottom line.
@ Jayna-
Aniston has already gone on record stating that she would not adopt.
So it sounds like IF she wanted a child it would have to be biologically hers if she were to accept motherhood. She has a preference as to how she envisions herself as a mom.
I get the feeling she wants to be connected to the guy FIRST then have the baby. At age 46, Justin is the FIRST guy to which she feels connected. Can you accept that?
And once again focus is on her womb. It’s well known that Jen Aniston approves copy of ALL her interviews, so she could simply delete this question, add it to the pile of non-allowed questions and focus on her film.
By talking about her womb, even if to chastise the public/media etc for talking about it, she STILL encouraging the discussion about her womb.
By the same token, i’d say that Cameron Diaz encourages talk of her single status by talking about it because her image is the footloose and free, fun party girl.
No one is asking Sandra or Charlize about their marital and womb status despite their recent adoptions and relationships. They don’t allow those conversations.
THIS ‘stop discussing my womb’ discussion point is a continuation of the ‘let’s discuss my womb’ PR strategy that’s been going on for decades.
The great Helen Mirren has referenced it in tons of interviews, saying women of a certain age , like from mid thirties or late thirties on are always asked in interviews about it and just in general by people, especially men, when are you going to have children, treated like something is wrong with you. She said there are many women who don’t have children and it might be they were past that time window when finally settled down, were trying and hadn’t gotten pregnant yet and a sensitive subject, don’t want children. She said it’s no one’s business but that it’s like people think they have the right to keep addressing this with a woman as if there is something wrong with you that you haven’t had a child by a certain age.
+1million!!!!
Jayna: I don’t dispute that this question *is* asked many actresses, BUT! No one is required to answer it and many do not. Celebrity interviews are pre-approved and for A listers (and many B Listers) the questions are pre-approved by the star and their publicist. That’s the nature of the game.
For the record because I work in the industry I know that Jen Aniston has 100% copy approval of ALL her interviews, so she can remove this question IF she doesn’t want it asked or in the final interview. End of.
This BS is all her doing. She brings up her womb even when she’s chastising her public not to bring up her womb. It’s on her that her womb is front and centre.
She could very well ignore the tabloid speculation, but she feeds it and encourages it by acknowledging it.
Hm. Interesting perspective.
“You may not have a child come out of your vagina, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t mothering—dogs, friends, friends’ children.” .
LOL.. “dogs, friends, friends’ children”.. in that order 🙂
Well, well…
I am surprised that she did not reference the chickens that she owns as well.
Indeed, that a defensive remark. Motherhood has to do with raising a child not just having a child.
Every interview she has given she talks about women and babies. She doesn’t have to answer this question over and over again. Celebs have control over that. I doubt anyone would care about her womb if she was like Cameron or Racheal Ray. Half of these Jen pregnancy stories come from tabloids and the other half come from her, so I’m not sure who to blame.
Every time I click on an Aniston post it feels like I slipped into a time/space distortion. The comments and the conversation have never changed. Same arguments, same topics, even the same people.
LOL
I’ve definately time warped backwards to 2005 today. I got caught in the Jennifer Anniston media Oscar blitz web.
I am steering clear of Jenn threds from now on, until the Oscar nominations come out.
I havent thought about her this much since 2005 really. LOL
Her Media Oscar blitz is working, because I am certainly not a fan, nor is she exciting, yet I find myself suddenly scouring old articles about her. LOL 🙂
Over and out of Jenn threads until Oscar nominations announced!
Is she going for the Oscar sympathy vote?
It’s strange on this website most of us agree with her on this which is good but Celebitchy is extremely obsessed with ‘bump watch’ on female celebrities i.e Keira Knightley comes to mind like congratulating her before she even confirmed she was pregnant. Unless the woman confirms she is pregnant then it is not our damn business personally, we are guilty of this behaviour and to me it is disgusting because it is intrusive and creepy. We praise ourselves for being feminists but yet we sadly obsess over other female bodies, if she as so much as looks heavier or even if her posture is not right we scream she must be pregnant!
I enjoy this website most of the time but some people need to calm down over bump watch on female celebrities.
I frigging hate bump watch. I don’t like the word bump either but it’s part of the current gossip lexicon so there’s no escaping it.
I used to get asked all the time. Now I’m thirty nine and the questions have family members have stopped, thank goodness. To complete strangers who ask, I just smile brightly and say that’s none of your business, thanks. Have a great day.
Wow! I’ve never read that Vanity Fair interview, that was brutal! It made me feel horrible for her.
Just two things: 1) Justin “fiercely loyal”? Not sure his ex-girlfriend would agree. 2) Yes…being asked the “when are you gonna have kids” question is enormously annoying and apparently the only way I was able to make it stop was by turning 50. Unfortunately, the question has now become “how come you never had kids”?
But here’s the thing… I *never* hear anyone speculate about her womb or call her selfish for being childless. The only time the state of her womb comes up is when SHE brings it up. Even in this interview! She’s describing the “consistent” speculation like it’s all anyone talks about. For the past decade, the only time I hear this criticism is when people rehash old rumors about the “reason Brad left her”. Every time she references it again, I realize: she definitely reads ALL the Bermuda Triangle gossip, and all the comments people leave. If she stuck to mainstream publications and avoided petty gossip and refused to bring it up, no one would talk about her reproductive status. Ever.
Eva Longoria wore the “I’ll have your babies, Brad” t-shirt during the split. That seemed rude, and the implication drawn from the t-shirt didn’t seem all that nice.
Somewhere between 6-8% of women ages 20-45 are infertile. There is only so much science can do it about in many cases. After 44, donor eggs are often the only way IVF can work and even then the rates of miscarriage are high. Few women are willing to discuss it in public however so everyone stays ignorant.
P.S., When will George Clooney’s womb get so much press? Not that Aniston deserves any pity party — I’d like to cry myself to sleep on the Friends’ residuals — but the difference in coverage on romance and reproduction is entirely different for women than it is for men.
I’ve run into friends from years ago and the first thing they ask is how many kids do I have. None, and I never will. I became sick and lost my ability to get pregnant. Luckily, I never wanted kids. I don’t think all women are here to be mothers. I’m happy to take my nephews for the day, spoil them, and send them home. My kind to have
She got the definition of feminism right, but now it’s a shield a la Swift, Dunham and Paltrow whenever anyone lobs legitimate criticism their way. No, people aren’t calling you out because you are a woman. People are calling you out because you’re obnoxious. If you believe in feminism, stop acting like some woman-child-victim playing into sexist stereotypes and just do your thing, no apologies. Clearly you’re a capable person, you’ve amassed a million dollar fortune. Own it, and stop whining! Sheesh…
She sounds intelligent and like an adult here, which is wonderful! I have mixed feelings on her rant about being asked about babies though. To be fair, she brought a lot of it on herself. but there are people who, to this day that say Brad left because she was too selfish to have kids, so I can kind of understand why she felt compelled to talk about it 10 years ago, but she should have shut down that whole subject years ago.
I don’t have children and nobody asks me if I do or want to… I wonder why is that…
I don’t get why someone not wanting kids is selfish or not womanly. Or a guy who doesn’t want kids, for that matter. Seriously? Better to have kids you don’t want, or have no interest in raising (which is why we have people like Gosselin, Octomom or Jenelle out there, who like having babies, but not raising them)? You’re not a woman unless you have kids? Talk about sexist. What’s wrong with being driven by career?
She probably has gone through many stages about this over the years. Like most of us she probably thought it would happen naturally within a stable marriage. I doubt she actually ever choose career over children like some, with an agenda, love to portray. She is nurturing … anyone can see that. I also do not believe she is someone who decided early in life that she would not have children. Nor did she guess she would be divorced during her most fertile years. I know women go through times of sadness and eventually acceptance when they do not conceive. Now she has the confidence to admit to anger and hurt that she is being judged. Obviously, some of the underlying distain for childless women stems from sexism. However, in Aniston’s case, childlessness has been used for ten years by people who want to make her the selfish villain and reason for the breakup of her marriage. It is a twisted tale that is truly sickening. Do not know how she survived it all or if it will ever end.
She said during her marriage that she would start a family as soon a Friends wrapped. What she actually did when Friends wrapped was sign up to do four movies back to back. So draw your own conclusions.
Maybe the marriage was in trouble by the time Friends ended, and she didn’t want to bring in a band-aid baby. When people get married, I think most say they’ll start a family , but then other things get in the way.
I think most actors talk about when they’ll have children, and for most it seems to work out. Cameron Diaz is the only one I can think of who seems to have said she won’t have children (and I can only really her giving that answer at 40 plus rather than earlier in her career), and even she, who doesn’t strike me as hung up on other people’s opinions, seems to try to justify her answer. I think she said something about being an aunt to a lot of kids (similar to what Aniston said up above).
@Perplexed, who wrote: “Maybe the marriage was in trouble by the time Friends ended, and she didn’t want to bring in a band-aid baby. When people get married, I think most say they’ll start a family , but then other things get in the way.”
Or maybe Jen just doesn’t want kids. I do agree that the Aniston-Pitt marriage was probably in trouble by 2003 and that the ‘kids’ issue was just the tip of the iceberg. I think Jen only visiting Brad once during the Troy shoot was very telling. I think Brad was probably ready to have the talk with Jen in 2004, with or without Angelina Jolie.
Oh for pete sake! WHEN will she STOP talking about babies? Its all she talks about! She must know at this stage that it gets her attention. And yet again, she proves she reads tabloids when she talks about how career driven she is. She has nothing new to say. She doesn’t even talk about her movie, the character or plot. Just how going ugly gets respect and dragging up the babies thing, yet again. Wash, rinse, repeat.
Maybe she will stop talking about it when people stop misrepresenting her and calling her too career oriented and selfish to have children. It has been going on for ten long years and from your tone I do not see it ending any time soon. It must be frustrating to have lies told about you all over the net for years and years.
@Yummy, who wrote: “Maybe she will stop talking about it when people stop misrepresenting her and calling her too career oriented and selfish to have children.”
That is ‘not’ what @Tarsha said at all.
I, of course, believe it is every woman’s right to decide on her own whether or not to have children. That is is even still a topic of discussion is ridiculous, but glad it is… as obviously it is something that does need to be addressed. All my best to you that have posted here and have painful experiences and others trying to tell you what to do with YOUR body. I feel for you really and admire you all. AND re: this interview – I know folks that go way back with Jennifer and adore her! They say that indeed she did want kids but it didn’t happen, and I wish they would leave her alone. They ALSO say that the only reason that Aniston has been seen with the horrible GOOP (her antithesis!) and been publicly complimentary about her is due to pressure from their mutual agents, management etc. That she, like 99% of the female celebs in LA that know LA PALTROW can’t stand her! So I think it is also sickening that someone as genuine (usually) and successful as Jen has to, or isc hoosing to, go along with the GOOP BS PR train. UGH, Jen – no! BUT heard although other mutual clients of theirs are furious and envious GOOP takes up all the mgmt time doing GP damage control, PR hype, and not them, Jen LOVES it because it takes the spotlight off her and all the pregnancy rumors, questions on this topic etc. that is as very upsetting to her! So guess that is why she is agreeing, but still am disappointed in Jen for allowing herself to be used by these idiot agent guys – she is too good for that! Still like her as she is very (quietly) charitable and down to earth and IMO talented. Oh BTW – get ready for more GOOP PR fake press any second because heard yesterday from friend who KNOWS, CHRIS is very much with ALEXA AND HAPPY! Been with her better part of last 10 days London, Europe, LA – she just headed back to NYC for work and he wants time with kids after being away. So vengeful GP not happy of course and the sickening media she buys is going to be out full force as her mgmt team builds her up again, plants negative untrue leaks on Chris, Alexa and the obligatory “Chris still in love with Gwynie, back together” etc. falsehoods. Not easy to be a decent, successful, happy woman these days is it? Hope things improve all the way around for us all, and soon. Happy Holidays and/or all the best to you all!