Nancy’s Notes: What Would Jen Think? (June 9, 2006)

What does Jennifer think about all the “What does Jen think?”

It started in the morning as soon as I put on my TV. The local news anchors were deep in discussion about Jennifer Aniston’s reaction to the birth of Brangelina’s baby. Jennifer had a premiere in Chicago over the weekend for her new movie, “The Break-Up.” The premiere came AFTER the media had announced the birth. The hosts commended Jennifer for being brave enough to come out to the premiere, debated whether any reporter would be bold enough to ask her about the birth of Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, and discussed how she would publicly react.

Then I came in to work and as soon as I got into the sound booth, my first voice-over read “What does Jennifer think of Brangelina’s delivery?”

Then I walked out onto the stage and there was a HUGE graphic which read, “How Jenn Found Out!” I immediately got a hold of my boss and said I thought it was a bit tacky (Fortunately, we have a boss who is always open to opinions and whether he changes things or not, he always listens). He admitted that “we have certainly had better taste in the past,” but that it was too late to change it for that day.

Monday, a news program, was announcing how well “The Break-Up”(Jenniferand Vince Vaughn’s new movie) did at the box office. And their headline graphic was “Brad Who?!”…implying Jenn had some how gotten back, in a way, at Brad by being successful without him.

Then we see the first pictures of Baby Shiloh with an article attached giving Jennifer advice on what to say to the media about the birth.

I can only imagine what Jennifer might be thinking about all the “what she is thinking” coverage. My point about Jennifer’s reaction getting so much coverage is that no one is addressing what THEY are REALLY thinking. Would Jennifer’s reaction even matter if no one thought Brad and Angelina had an affair…emotionally or physically? I am CERTAINLY NOT accusing anyone of anything… just pointing out that IT IS the reason why everyone seems to care so much about how Jennifer feels.

But why is that subject not addressed at all anymore anywhere… even a sentence? Speculation has never before been withheld in publications. In fact, there was so much of it when no one knew for sure if Brad and Angelina were together… when we found out they were, it was just like “well, okay.”

This is absolutely not judgment I am passing because no one but those two know the truth… this is merely an observation. Have our values as society changed so much that it is not shocking anymore and that it is more newsworthy to try and get the reaction of the one left allegedly behind?

And, seriously, if someone were to ask Jennifer her reaction to the birth, what kind of answer do they really expect to get anyway?