Jennifer Aniston is sick of other people talking about her.
And writing about her. And pitying her and shaming her and making her feel bad for any of the decisions she has made in her life.
And she’s finally doing something about it.
Back in July, the 47-year old actress penned an op-ed for The Huffington Post in which she blasted the “business of lies” that has cropped up around her.
Irritated over the constant pregnancy chatter that seems to engulf her every move and every word, Aniston earned universal praise at the time for standing up both for herself and for women everywhere.
“I’m fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body-shaming that occurs daily,” Aniston wrote this summer, adding:
“If I am some kind of symbol to some people out there, then clearly I am an example of the lens through which we, as a society, view our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, female friends and colleagues.
“The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing.”
Amen, right?
Preach on, no?
Aniston got divorced from Brad Pitt in 2005.
Since then, she’s taken the high road at every opportunity, never bad-mouthing Pitt or saying a word about his marriage to Angelina Jolie.
Or his divorce from Angelina Jolie, despite what you may have read.
And yet still. The press wonders if Aniston is pregnant… wonders if she’s happy in her marriage… actually wonders if she’ll go back to Pitt.
In the latest issue of Marie Claire, Aniston explains why she spoke out in such a manner.
“My marital status has been shamed; my divorce status was shamed; my lack of a mate had been shamed; my nipples have been shamed,” she says.
“It’s like, ‘Why are we only looking at women through this particular lens of picking us apart? Why are we listening to it?"”
After 30 years as an actress, Aniston says she couldn’t sit idly by any longer while critics and tabloids talked trash and made up rumors.
“I just thought, ‘I have worked too hard in this life and this career to be whittled down to a sad, childless human,"” she said.
Aniston, of course, is married to Justin Theroux these days. And she couldn’t be more content; once again, despite what you may have read.
“Why is he the right person for me?” the actress asks/explains.
“All I know is that I feel completely seen, and adored, in no matter what state. There’s no part of me that I don’t feel comfortable showing, exposing.
“And it brings forth the best part of myself, because I care about him so much. And he’s such a good person. It hurts me to think of anything hurting him.”
Will Aniston have kids at some point?
We’re not about to ask.
But what does her future look like in general?
“This is a time when I’m not completely sure what I’m doing. I’m at this sort of crossroads trying to figure out what inspires me deep in my core,” she tells the magazine.
“What used to make me tick is not necessarily making me tick anymore. The most challenging thing right now is trying to find what it is that makes my heart sing.”
This issue of Marie Claire goes on sale on November 15.