Jennifer Aniston is the cover girl of InStyle‘s September issue and opens up to the publication about the negative effects of social media and how she was bullied as a child.
In an interview with “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” co-head-writer Molly McNearney, the 49-year-old actress reveals that she was “one of those kids who got sort of bullied” at school.
RELATED: Jennifer Aniston Says She ‘Fantasizes’ About A ‘Friends’ Reunion
“I was one of the kids who the others would decide to make fun of,” she explains. “It was an odd period of time during fifth, sixth, seventh grades. I was a little on the chubby side, so I was just that kid.”
Aniston says she is thankful that she didn’t grow up in a time of social media, which would have made the situation so much worse, especially with how susceptible and vulnerable children can be at that age.
“Childhood is such a vulnerable time, and I’m sure a part of me believed all that they teased me about. Thankfully, I didn’t have a phone or social media to look at and think, Oh, I’m not this, I’m not that. I just wanted to have fun and play capture the flag.”
RELATED: Jennifer Aniston And Tig Notaro To Play Lesbian President, First Lady In New Netflix Comedy
McNearney, who is married to and shares two children with Kimmel, agreed with the former “Friends” star, saying she couldn’t imagine dealing with those pressures as a teenager.
“Our friends have 10- and 11-year-olds on Instagram,” Aniston says. “They’re starting way younger than when I even gave a crap about what I looked like or what makeup I wore or what guy I liked.
“I think iPhones and Snapchat and all this stuff is just fuelling narcissism. People are using filters and all sorts of tools to mask who they really are.”
RELATED: Justin Theroux Responds To Neighbour’s Comments On Jennifer Aniston Split
Elsewhere in the interview, McNearney asks the star of the upcoming “Dumplin'” movie about the #MeToo movement and whether she has ever been sexually harassed in the workplace.
“I’ve definitely had some sloppy moves made on me by other actors and I handled it by walking away,” Aniston answers. “I’ve never had anyone in a position of power make me feel uncomfortable and leverage that over me.”
RELATED: Jennifer Aniston Calls Out ‘Misconceptions’ That She ‘Can’t Keep A Man’
She also took aim at the sexism prevalent in the media, particularly when it comes to the reporting of Hollywood relationships.
“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?”
You can read the full interview at InStyle.com.
