Jennifer Aniston is returning to TV with a splashy new show.
The star of Apple’s forthcoming streaming series “The Morning Show” is on the cover of this month’s InStyle; in the issue, she talks about the show, the #MeToo movement, and more.
“The show gives you a behind-the-curtain peek at a lot of things: what it takes to pull off a morning show, the unique lifestyle of these anchors, the obsession with celebrity culture, and humanity in the midst of corruption,” she says of the new series, which also stars Reese Witherspoon. “Plus we’re addressing the ugly truths of how men have treated women in our society, particularly in the workplace, for all these years.”
The 50-year-old actress continues, “We’re looking at the ways in which we’ve all normalized this behaviour and how we’re all by-products of our environment, having grown up with sexism encoded in our messaging, however extreme or subtle. This show looks at how a culture of silence can slowly evolve and how we sometimes participate without even realizing it.”
The show’s approach to real-world workplace issues also brings to mind the #MeToo movement, though the show was already in development before that movement kicked off in 2017.
“The show was always about the abuse of power, and women and sexism. We sold it in the summer, and then Harvey [Weinstein] happened in the fall,” Aniston says.
In the midst of the Weinstein scandal, “CBS This Morning” host Charlie Rose and “Today” host Matt Lauer were also hit with serious sexual misconduct allegations.
“Reese and I were like…‘The show is writing itself.’ It was as if the universe were begging for this patriarchal society to be exposed. It’s crazy,” Aniston recalls.
The actress also talks about aging but still feeling well.
“Fifty was the first time I thought, Well, that number,” Aniston says. “I don’t know what it is because I don’t feel any different. Things aren’t shutting down in any way. I feel physically incredible. So it’s weird that it’s all of a sudden getting telegraphed in a way that’s like, ‘You look amazing for your age.’ I think we need to establish some etiquette around that dialogue and verbiage.”
Aniston adds that she won’t stop dying her hair any time soon, though.
“I’m not gonna lie—I don’t want gray hair,” she says.