Jennifer Aniston Says She's 'So Over Cancel Culture'
The actress said she believes too many people have been put "in the Harvey Weinstein basket."
Jennifer Aniston discussed "cancel culture" in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, and she does not expect her opinions to be popular. The actress will soon star in Season 3 of The Morning Show – a drama that started as a fictionalized commentary on the dark side of broadcast news, including the case of Matt Lauer. However, Aniston said that she does not want to see more people unilaterally "canceled."
After saying that she is "so over cancel culture," Aniston joked: "I probably just got canceled by saying that. I just don't understand what it means... Is there no redemption? I don't know? I don't put everybody in the Harvey Weinstein basket." Aniston went on to describe her own interactions with Weinstein – the disgraced movie producer who is currently serving a 39-year prison sentence for sexual assault and sexual harassment.
Aniston said that she was never personally harassed by Weinstein but that she never had a pleasant conversation with him either. She said: "He's not a guy, you're like, 'God, I can't wait to hang out with Harvey.' Never. You were actually like, 'Oh god, okay, suck it up.' I remember actually, he came to visit me on a movie to pitch me a movie. And I do remember consciously having a person stay in my trailer."
Weinstein told WSJ that Aniston "never had any uncomfortable instances with me." The producer became the most infamous case in the Me Too movement, though the term "cancel culture" often carries even broader connotations. The term even has an entry in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary these days where it is defined as "the mass withdrawal of support from public figures or celebrities who have done things that aren't socially accepted today." Elsewhere, the definition says that the ostensible function of "cancel culture" is to "express disapproval and exert social pressure."
Many stars have complained about the phenomena as Aniston did, but others question if it even really exists in the way they're conceptualizing it. While celebrities may make the trending topics list or even newspaper headlines over supposed cancellation campaigns online, critics note how many of them have truly lost their livelihood or suffered other repercussions due to "cancel culture."
"I mean, is [cancel culture] real?" wondered Phoebe Bridgers in an interview with Teen Vogue. "Who's lost their job politically? One huge offender is in jail for actual sex crimes, and then anything short of that is, maybe, they lose a couple friends or lose a couple jobs. Then five years later, they're like, 'Sorry, sorry, sorry.' And they come back, but they never apologize – they never go away."
The conversation around this social media phenomenon is definitely still taking shape, and while some fans agree with Aniston, it's clear that others do not. Aniston is taking some heat on social media for these comments.