Following the news of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's divorce, it seems that instead of accepting the news as it is, the media, along with a great deal of followers of the Brangelina romance, immediately turned their heads to Jennifer Aniston.
On the day Jolie announced she was filing for divorce, the news became Twitter's No. 1 trending topic. And the question on everyone's mind was "What does Jennifer Aniston have to say about all this?"
Well I ask in response, "Why does that matter?" It surprised me how hard people were trying to prompt some kind of reaction out of Aniston, so far as to a fake news article claiming she appeared on the Today show and angrily commented the following:
"F*ck society, you people make me sick,” said Aniston on the Today show. “While you idiots are talking about this Brangelina bullsh*t, you’re ignoring what just happened yesterday with Terence Crutcher. An unarmed black father of four was driving home from college when his car broke down. The police showed up and shot him while both of his hands were in the air. This was all caught on video, which you can easily watch on the Internet. But instead, no, none of you will do that. You will instead focus on the fact that a celebrity couple is going through a divorce. F*ck you.”
After learning that Aniston did not even appear on the Today show, I started to wonder why this news became the focus of so many people's lives. A topic of conversation for the following days to come, especially when it had nothing to do with the people discussing this matter. I mean I get it, they're a celebrity couple that most of us have been rooting for and whose lives have been in the spotlight for years, but to throw Aniston into the mix, when her history with Pitt remains deep in the past, seems petty and unfair. But as it has been shown time and time again, the media is willing to conjure up any type of bold commentary just to get people talking. In all honesty, I'm sure Aniston has too much class to lash out like that, and we certainly have no right to be knocking on her door for any type of commentary.
But what concerns me more is that we all contribute to the media, through Facebook shares, Snapchat stories, Instagram posts, Tweets, and so on. And instead of expressing support or offering kind words, we use our power of social media to twist words in our favor, criticizing and belittling others in the process. People feed off of rumors and gossip, and sure they may be entertaining to an extent, but investing your time in someone else's personal affairs is nonsensical, so I think it's time we call it quits on stirring up more trouble.
