JENNIFER Aniston is finally speaking out against critics of her childlessness.
“‘There is a pressure on women to be mothers, and if they are not, then they’re deemed damaged goods. Maybe my purpose on this planet isn’t to procreate. Maybe I have other things I’m supposed to do?” the 49-year-old actress said.
She graces the September issue of InStyle magazine, where she was interviewed by Molly McNearney, Jimmy Kimmel’s wife.
Aniston hinted that not having a child may be a medical issue and not a personal choice.
“No one considers how sensitive that might be for my partner and me,” said the “Horrible Bosses” actress. “They don’t know what I’ve been through medically or emotionally.”
Over the years, some news organizations have reported that Brad Pitt broke up with Aniston because she didn’t want to have children. And that’s why Pitt apparently fell in love with Angelina Jolie, who had adopted a child, Maddox, by then, and was well on her way to finalizing the adoption of Zahara. Pitt and Aniston announced their breakup in 2005, just months after Pitt and Jolie co-starred in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith.”
Pitt and Jolie are currently in the middle of divorce proceedings.
“It’s pretty crazy. The misconceptions are ‘Jen can’t keep a man,’ and ‘Jen refuses to have a baby because she’s selfish and committed to her career.’ Or that I’m sad and heartbroken. First, with all due respect, I’m not heartbroken,” said Aniston.
“Women are picked apart and pitted against one another based on looks and clothing and superficial stuff. When a couple breaks up in Hollywood, it’s the woman who is scorned. The woman is left sad and alone. She’s the failure. F that. When was the last time you read about a divorced, childless man referred to as a spinster?”
Aniston split with Justin Theroux early this year. They are in the process of divor-cing.