Jennifer Aniston Reveals Reason for Severing Ties With Some Friends Amid Pandemic

Jennifer Aniston has been vocal about ways to keep yourself safe during the pandemic, one of which includes getting the COVID-19 vaccine, and the actress revealed in a new interview with InStyle that she has parted ways with some friends who have not received the shot. “I’ve just lost a few people in my weekly routine who have refused or did not disclose [whether or not they had been vaccinated], and it was unfortunate,” she said.

Aniston continued, “I feel it’s your moral and professional obligation to inform, since we’re not all podded up and being tested every single day. It’s tricky because everyone is entitled to their own opinion — but a lot of opinions don’t feel based in anything except fear or propaganda.” The Friends star had been explaining that she’s had to start watching the news less often after experiencing fatigue. “We all went through news fatigue, panic fatigue, during the pandemic because we were hoping one day we would wake up and hear something hopeful, and all we got was more insanity,” she said.

After the interviewer remarked that it was “Our worst of times. We could not see the way out,” Aniston replied, “And there’s still a large group of people who are anti-vaxxers or just don’t listen to the facts. It’s a real shame.” Last summer, the 52-year-old shared an Instagram post encouraging her followers to wear masks, noting that it “really shouldn’t be a debate.”

“I understand masks are inconvenient and uncomfortable,” she wrote. “But don’t you feel that it’s worse that businesses are shutting down… jobs are being lost… health care workers are hitting absolute exhaustion. And so many lives have been taken by this virus because we aren’t doing enough. I really do believe in the basic goodness of people so I know we can all do this. BUT still, there are many people in our country refusing to take the necessary steps to flatten the curve, and keep each other safe. People seem worried about their ‘rights being taken away’ by being asked to wear a mask.”

“This simple and effective recommendation is being politicized at the expense of peoples’ lives,” she concluded. “And it really shouldn’t be a debate. If you care about human life, please… just #wearadamnmask and encourage those around you to do the same.”