Jennifer Aniston at the premiere of her film “Derailed” at the Loews Lincoln Center in New York City, New York in 2005. (Photo by James Devaney/WireImage) 

For years, the astronomically successful Jennifer Aniston has been the beautiful-but-damned subject of tabloid fodder. To the trashy publications in this world, Aniston’s personal life was and still is low-hanging fruit; the reliable headline that will keep a site’s traffic churning. It is baffling to think about all of the stories this woman has beyond the ones told about her seemingly unfulfilled romantic life.

On the promotional trail for her new Apple TV+ comedy The Morning Show – one which stares down the #MeToo movement with its plotline centred around gender and power in the workplace – Aniston opened up about something that happened to her years ago. Something that was brushed aside because the media was all too-busy talking about the breakdown of her marriage to fellow actor Brad Pitt.

In 2004 – yes, this was the same year she and Pitt split – Aniston had a brush with Harvey Weinstein. As she tells Vanity Fair, the meeting was limited to retail and general rudeness but alas was still important. Labelling Weinstein as having “such a level of gross entitlement and piggish behaviour” Aniston said Weinstein met her London while she was filing the movie Derailed to ask if she would wear his wife’s label Marchesa to the premiere. “He’d be like, ‘Ok, so I’d like you to wear one of these to the premiere.’” she said. “And I went through the book, and at the time, it wasn’t what it is today. It was not for me. He was like, ‘You have to wear the dress.’ That was my only bullying. And I was like, ‘No, I will not wear the dress.’”

For Aniston, whose star at the time was so big given the success of Friends and it’s looming finale, it was a bullying request that she had the power to deny. Asked whether he “just accepted” her decision, she said, “Well, what was he going to do? Come over here and make me wear it?!”

Also starring Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show launches on November 1 on Apple TV+.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA7D4_qU9jo