Jennifer Aniston has announced that she will not be attending the 2021 Emmys on Sunday due to concerns over her personal safety amid the pandemic.
"No, I will not be going," she told Jimmy Kimmel on Monday night. The actress, who along with Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and others are nominated in the variety special (pre-recorded) as part of HBO Max's "Friends" reunion. However, in the event that the show wins, producer and director Ben Winston will accept on her behalf.
"This is a big step for me to just be here," she added of physically appearing on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." "Just baby steps."
During the episode, Aniston admitted she has been living a relatively secluded life since the pandemic hit, only going from her home to Sony Studios to shoot Season 2 of Apple TV Plus’ "The Morning Show," then back to her home. She would occasionally visit friends Courteney Cox and Jason Bateman.
"We had this little bubble of friends — thank God, I love all of you so much — but yeah, it was hard. Weird times," she said.
Last month, Aniston touched upon the sensitive topic of COVID-19 vaccines during an interview with InStyle, stating that people had a moral and professional obligation to reveal their vaccination status. She also admitted that, although she frequently watched the news, she had to eventually stop because of the worsening situation.
"We all went through news fatigue, panic fatigue, during the pandemic because we were hoping one day we would wake up and hear something hopeful, and all we got was more insanity," she said.
Aniston went on to express her frustration towards people who refused to get the vaccine and who "just don't listen to the facts."
"I've just lost a few people in my weekly routine who have refused or did not disclose whether or not they had been vaccinated, and it was unfortunate," she said. "I feel it's your moral and professional obligation to inform, since we're not all podded up and being tested every single day. It's tricky because everyone is entitled to their own opinion — but a lot of opinions don't feel based in anything except fear or propaganda."
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Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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