Jennifer Aniston has always been the quintessential LA girl. From her signature flip-flops and tank tops to her sun-kissed bronde hair, she epitomizes what we think of as California style, as synonymous with LA as the Dodgers, palm trees, and green juice.
But Aniston has also spent plenty of time in New York. Whether she’s filming The Morning Show on location or dining out with friends or exploring a rumored new relationship, she’s obviously comfortable navigating New York City.
So why, then, has Aniston—one of the biggest TV and movie stars on the planet—never attended fashion’s biggest night? She’s been a staple at the Emmys, the Oscars, the Golden Globes, and the SAG Awards, but never the Met Gala, the exclusive annual fundraising event for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.
“Yes, I have [been invited],” Aniston confirms to Glamour for our September global cover story on the women of The Morning Show. The Emmy-winning actor would no doubt stun in whatever look she’d choose, but says that the thought of posing on and walking those iconic stairs “overwhelms me.”
“I’m a jeans and flip-flops and tank top kind of girl,” Aniston continues. “I love dressing up too, but for me, it’s a mental game of…put on a fancy dress, makeup, get your hair all purdy and go sit in a big room with your peers. [And yes,] everyone’s there to celebrate each other and have some fun, but I get nervous.”
It’s understandable. And Aniston’s not alone. Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Angelina Jolie, Annette Bening, and many more A-listers (including, interestingly enough, Brad Pitt) have never attended the annual gala, chaired, of course, by Condé Nast chief content officer and Vogue global editorial director Anna Wintour.
“I even get a little anxious about public speaking, especially over the years of having your words twisted and taken out of context,” Aniston says. “So I find myself almost hall monitoring myself in a weird way.”
Even so, Aniston says she still appreciates the red carpet, even if her Morning Show character, Alex Levy, has a certain disdain for it. “I don’t feel [the same way Alex does].” Still, “some people find it like a sport where they build you up and then they love to tear you down. What’s the reason why people do it? Who knows? But I just try as best I can [to tune it out] because it doesn’t do you any good.”
Still, that’s not to say Aniston won’t ever walk those famous stairs. But her decision not to attend is one of the many reasons we love the former Friends star; she stays true to herself, flip-flops and all.
For more with Aniston and the women of The Morning Show, read our September global cover story here.
