American actress Jennifer Aniston defends cutting ties with unvaccinated friends

The "Friends" star responded to a critic who questioned her decision to cut out people who refuse to get the coronavirus vaccine

By Edward Era Barbacena

American celebrity Jennifer Aniston is defending her decision to drop friends and acquaintances who won't say if they are vaccinated against Covid-19 after questions on social media about the move.

Jennifer Aniston doesn’t have to be “Friends” with everyone. Especially if they’re unvaccinated. 

The Friends and The Morning Show star said in an InStyle magazine interview published this week that there was still a "large group of people who are anti-vaxxers or just don't listen to the facts".

She added that she had, unfortunately, "lost a few people" from her weekly routine who would not disclose if they had been vaccinated.

She was challenged by some followers on Instagram, including Robyn Law, author of the weight-loss book The Body Plan, who asked why Aniston was worried about being around unvaccinated people when she has been vaccinated.

Aniston responded on her account.

"Because if you have the variant, you are still able to give it to me. I may get slightly sick but I will not be admitted to a hospital and or die. But I can give it to someone else who does not have the vaccine and whose health is compromised (or has a previous existing condition) - and therefore I would put their lives at risk," wrote Aniston.

"That is why I worry. We have to care about more than just ourselves here," she added.

In the actor’s InStyle interview published earlier this week, Aniston called anti-vaccine people and those who “just don’t listen to the facts” a “real shame.” 

“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 in the interview.

“I feel it’s your moral and professional obligation to inform, since we’re not all podded up and being tested every single day,” Aniston added. “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.”

Last year, Aniston repeatedly urged followers to mask up, and shared a frightening post about a “perfectly healthy” friend who was hospitalized early in the pandemic with COVID-19. 

“We can’t be so naive to think we can outrun this ... if we want this to end, and we do, right? The one step we can take is PLEASE #wearadamnmask,” she wrote at the time. “Just think about those who’ve already suffered through this horrible virus. Do it for your family. And most of all yourself. Covid affects all ages.” 

Aniston, who has 37.7 million followers on 4Instagram, rose to fame as Rachel Green in US television sitcom Friends from 1994 to 2004. It followed a group of six New Yorkers in their 20s and 30s.