Where Is BFF Jennifer Aniston While Ellen Degeneres’s Brand Tanks?
It’s no secret that Ellen DeGeneres has a lot of friends in high places. Justin Timberlake, Reese Witherspoon, and Kevin Hart are among those DeGeneres can count on. With The Ellen DeGeneres Show in hot water, many fans wonder why one of DeGeneres’s closest confidantes Jennifer Aniston, hasn’t spoken up.
Ellen DeGeneres called Jennifer Aniston every 30 minutes during quarantine
Aniston was the very first guest to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2003. She and Degeneres have a friendship that goes back to the early 1990s. They’ve been through a lot together.
When production shut down Hollywood due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, The Ellen Show pivoted. The socially-distanced version of the show featured DeGeneres hosting from her home while quarantined.
The new episodes DeGeneres filmed before hiatus included plenty of celebrity interactions via video chat or by phone. Aniston is one of the stars DeGeneres hecked in on the most.
Every 30 minutes, DeGeneres called Aniston, as shown via Instagram. The two spoke about Aniston’s closet cleaning and DeGeneres’s unfinished puzzle. Before the call ended, DeGeneres promised to call again “in 30 minutes.”
This extreme example of their friendship shows that few boundaries exist between them, whether for TV or in real life. The call entertained at-home viewers, but for many years, Aniston’s relationship with DeGeneres has never been anything to question.
Aniston hosted ‘The Ellen Show’, in the running to take over
Not only does Aniston provide comic relief for DeGeneres on the air, but she’s taken The Ellen Show stage to host to fill-in. In January 2020, Aniston took The Ellen Show stage where she informed the audience of their “real” friendship.
“You know, there’s Hollywood friends, and Hollywood friends, they kind of do that air-kiss thing. And then when you’re real friends, you do that,” she said, referencing an on-air kiss she and DeGeneres shared.
It’s also to DeGeneres’s credit that a Friends reunion is in the works — at least in part. In 2013, the show featured a sketch that included Courtney Cox, Matthew Perry, and, Aniston. From there, talk of putting the whole “gang” back together snowballed.
That said, it looks as though Aniston is a contender for taking over The Ellen Show‘s hosting duties. Sean Hayes, Kristen Bell, and Melissa McCarthy are also being considered, a source for Telepictures told the Daily Mail UK.
“All four have global name recognition and their own following. They are all genuinely warm and could carry an Ellen-less show,” the insider said.
This eliminates the rumors that late-night host James Corden might take over which might be music to some viewers’ ears. Some pointed out that Corden’s off-air personality was even more questionable that DeGeneres’s.
“James Corden is definitely not under consideration as he has a long term deal with CBS and if he was interested in a daytime show, CBS would develop one for him,” the source said. “Regardless, he’s busy enough in late night so it’s not going to happen.”
The source continued: “The lesson for a post-Ellen world is to have someone who is genuinely nice and likable. Sean [Hayes] is currently the front runner as he has availability and he has proven successful when he has guest-hosted Ellen in the past,” they said.
The insider noted similarities between the downfall of DeGeneres and Rosie O’Donnell. The Rosie O’Donnell Show aired from 1996-2002 with controversy surrounding her, too.
“If Ellen does walk, we have less than six weeks to keep our clearances (time periods) and build a new show around a new host with new showrunners,” the source said. “Otherwise NBC could take the time slots back and up Kelly Clarkson a show that they own.”
“Our show in its current form won’t work. The Ellen production staff and Warner Bros’ executives lost faith in the three executive producers of the show and Ellen. This is a PR nightmare that you can’t recover from.”
It’s unclear if DeGeneres will leave her namesake show, or if Aniston would step into the role. For now, fans want to know why Aniston hasn’t said anything about the ongoing scandal.
Why hasn’t Aniston spoken out in defense of DeGeneres?
Fans have taken to social media to voice their vote for Aniston as DeGeneres’s replacement, should she leave. Others want to know why only a few friends have defended DeGeneres — and Aniston isn’t one of them.
DeGeneres is “devastated” over “toxic work allegations.” Her “be kind” brand suffering, according to multiple reports such as the New York Post.
#ReplaceEllen was a trending topic on Twitter. BuzzFeed News broke the story of anonymous employee complaints against the talk show host. Since then, more information about alleged misconduct or toxicity has come to light.
The Post noted that some of DeGeneres’s A-list friends, including Aniston, may be hesitant to speak up due to #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, fear of defending anyone associated with racism, sexual misconduct, or otherwise.
“They found something with Ellen they could latch onto and that drove even more of a pile-on. No one wants to be next,” a source told the Post.
Despite no direct implications against DeGeneres, Variety reported that Warner Bros. launched a full-fledged investigation into the claims. DeGeneres has since addressed some of those allegations with her staff and crew, and three top producers — Kevin Leman, Ed Glavin, and Jonathan Norman — tied to sexual misconduct claims were fired.
However, many don’t believe DeGeneres didn’t know what was happening behind-the-scenes with some pointing to the host as the ring leader. A few celebrities have given that sentiment weight, such as Everbody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett who tweeted knowledge of people “treated horribly by her.”
In October 2019, Sir Elton John came to DeGeneres’s defense when she faced criticism for sitting with former president George W. Bush at a Dallas Cowboys game. He hasn’t spoken about the current situation, but Kevin Hart, Katy Perry, wife Portia de Rossi, and Ashton Kutcher have.
We don’t know if Aniston counsels DeGeneres in private, or if their friendship is still in-tact after all of this. Still, whether Aniston fears the fallout of standing up for her friend or not, many can’t help but think her silence says it all.
