Jennifer Aniston fans rally behind her amid calls for Brad Pitt reunion: 'He literally publicly dumped her for someone else'
The internet was officially breathless on Sunday as Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt reunited at the Screen Actors Guild Awards — 15 years after they announced their divorce.
Because the narrative about them continued in the tabloids all these years, the photos of them embracing had the internet freaking out. It was all about the way he held her hand as she walked away looking flawless in her vintage Dior dress.
And the footage of Pitt, 56, watching her acceptance speech with eyes locked on the screen.
#BradPitt watches #JenniferAniston accept her award backstage at the #SAGAwards pic.twitter.com/YZkeDd9SAd
— ET Canada (@ETCanada) January 20, 2020
Social media took over the work of the tabs, writing a narrative about the way their night ended after Aniston, 50, shared a photo of her gown off and draped over a bathtub (“Hope Brad took that dress off!”). Some have even been dreaming of a second wedding — no doubt encouraged by Aniston’s Friends co-star and pal Courteney Cox, who liked a tweet saying the exes “still love each other.”
A post shared by Jennifer Aniston (@jenniferaniston) on Jan 20, 2020 at 3:59pm PST
And while many, including celebrities, are so there for any type of romantic reunion, others who remember how their divorce shook out — as one of the biggest celebrity scandals of all time —were quick to call a halt to any reunion chatter.
Is everyone really forgetting that Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie?!?! Seems like the grass isn’t greener on the other side. 🙄 pic.twitter.com/S1FOOlnZWz
— 🌹 (@amustafaaaa) January 20, 2020
I can’t believe how everyone is rooting for Brad and Jen to get back together when he literally publicly DUMPED HER for someone else. pic.twitter.com/9OySuHkOtN
— Megi (@_SpiceMeg) January 20, 2020
Why are we all acting as if Brad and Jen are some sort of Romeo and Juliet style star-crossed lovers... he cheated. Period.
— Natalie Grossi (@nataliexo) January 21, 2020
I think that people forget that brad pitt cheated on jennifer aniston while they were MARRIED! he made her a joke for the whole world and how can you ship a thing like that? she moved on because she’s a lady, but how can you ship it when he did that to her? are you serious?
— gab ? (@imnikkiheat) January 20, 2020
I really don't get the Jennifer Anniston/Brad Pitt obsession.
Not even a fan of her but the guy cheated, married his mistress and had a bunch of kids with her and got dumped. She deserves better
People need to stop pushing their fantasies onto these celebrities— Anna 🐊 (@AnnaNono22972) January 21, 2020
The reactions to Brad & Jen’s interaction at the Sag awards shows how much:
- men cheating is of no significance
- divorced dad with 7 kids can still be considered some kind of catch
- we disregard women’s pain
- we romanticize nonsense— Ozzy Etomi (@ozzyetomi) January 20, 2020
PSA: Brad Pitt is a not an underage boy who made immature decisions. When he left Jennifer he was in his 40s. When Angelina left him he was in his 50s. Stop infantilizing attractive straight white men and blaming women for the man's failures.
— Alfonso Martin Espina Opiniano (@alfonsoespina) January 20, 2020
Those who actually followed their saga professionally all this time can recall how four months after the so-called “golden couple” — whose adorable wedding vows included things like her promise to always make his “favorite banana milkshake” — released their January 2005 breakup statement after nearly five years of marriage, he was photographed enjoying family time with his Mr. & Mrs. Smith co-star Angelina Jolie and her adopted son Maddox that April. Pitt and Jolie, who met the year before on the set, reportedly leaked the photos of their cozy beach day — as the La La Land paparazzi tend not to be found on remote beaches of Kenya.
Pitt and Jolie’s movie, in which they played husband and wife assassins, came out that June and to promote it, they “played house” — showing an imagining of them as a family — in a 60-page portfolio titled “Domestic Bliss” for W magazine. And that July, Jolie adopted her second child, Zahara, with Pitt appearing to be a doting dad to both — and soon moving to officially adopt them and change their last name Jolie-Pitt.
Aniston gave her first post-split interview in August, infamously saying her estranged husband was missing a “sensitively chip.” Describing herself as “lonely,” “sad” and “confused” and crying during the interview, she said, “I just don’t know what happened... I feel as if I’m trying to scrounge around and pick up the pieces in the midst of this media circus.”
Aniston and Pitt’s divorce wasn’t final until that October, but their saga never really ended. That was because Jolie gushed that she “fell in love” with Pitt on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which shot in 2004 — when he was still very much married to Aniston. Pitt also said he “fell in love” with Jolie while making that movie, but maintained that they were chaste during production. And every time the Jolie-Pitts (dubbed Brangelina) added to their brood — next with Shiloh born just a year later in 2006 — they were painted as a globe-trotting family who were “citizens of the world” while Aniston was depicted as sad — a failure at relationships and as a woman because she didn’t have a child. And that was a narrative that went on for a very long time.
Pitt and Aniston both ultimately remarried. He officially said “I do” to Jolie in 2014 before their marriage imploded in 2016 while Aniston gave marriage another shot with Justin Theroux in 2015 only to announce their split in early 2018. The fact that they are both single again after all these years — older, wiser and still as good-looking as ever — and are cordial has apparently led to people dreaming of Jen and Brad 2.0. And people forgetting their very complicated — and hurtful, especially for her — past.
But the internet never truly forgets — and maybe that’s a good thing sometimes.
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