Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Justin Theroux praises wife Jennifer Aniston for essay on tabloid objectification of women

Actress has received widespread support for her blog lambasting the tabloid scrutiny of women in the public eye

Olivia Blair
Thursday 14 July 2016 14:20 BST
Comments
Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux
Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Justin Theroux has joined the chorus of women celebrating his wife Jennifer Aniston’s essay condemning tabloid objectification.

The Mulholland Drive actor married Aniston in August. Throughout their five-year relationship, Aniston has been plagued by tabloid rumours of a pregnancy or divorce. The most recent false pregnancy story came via InTouch magazine in June.

A thoroughly “fed-up” Aniston addressed the warped perception of single women or those without children perpetuated by the industry. In her essay for the Huffington Post, the Friends actress wrote: “I’m fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body shaming that occurs daily under the guise of ‘journalism’, the ‘First Amendment’ and ‘celebrity news’.

“We use celebrity ‘news’ to perpetuate this dehumanising view of females, focused solely on one’s physical appearance, which tabloids turn into a sporting event of speculation. Is she pregnant? Is she eating too much? Has she let herself go? Is her marriage on the rocks because the camera detects some physical ‘imperfection’?”

Her husband responded on Wednesday with an Instagram picture of Aniston next to the caption: #wcw. Here’s just one reason why,” and a link to her essay, adding “#gogirl.”

Aniston's article prompted an outpouring of support from women who have been treated similarly by tabloids and gossip websites including Cheryl. It also sparked debate, most memorably between Chrissy Teigen and Piers Morgan, with the model hitting out at the Mail Online columnist for his latest think piece questioning if Aniston has the right to complain about body shaming when she has appeared on magazine covers which he claims have most likely been digitally manipulated.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in