Jennifer Aniston has said she thinks more revelations of harassment “will come to the surface” as she talked about the #MeToo movement’s continuing impact.
The former Friends star has also told of how her new series The Morning Show had to be altered after the wave of allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein in 2017 prompted many within the entertainment industry to share their own experiences of sexual misconduct.
Aniston will soon appear in The Morning Show alongside Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell, an Apple TV+ drama series that goes behind the scenes at talk shows in New York while exploring the power dynamic between men and women in the workplace.
Aniston, who also executive produces the programme, told Radio Times magazine that they have “had to regroup and redirect the show to include all that stuff” thanks to the shockwaves caused by #MeToo.
“We want it to be raw and honest and vulnerable and messy, and not black and white.”
Aniston, 50, said she believes there is more to come.
“Incredible things have happened in the past couple of years that were long overdue,” she said.
“It’s been a very exciting time and you can see the changes regarding women being objectified, and regarding power and positions of power.
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“And I feel a lot more will come to the surface, because people are doing their homework and digging deep into everybody’s underwear drawer.”
Weinstein, who is facing rape charges in New York, has been shunned from Hollywood while a string of other high-profile men, including actor Kevin Spacey, have also been accused of sexual harassment.
Having found fame playing Rachel Green in sitcom Friends 25 years ago, Aniston said that she has largely “had a pretty easy time in terms of my experience in the business” regarding gender equality.
She added: “But even back on Friends, it wasn’t so much about women being paid the same as men – some of the women were being paid more. It was more about, ‘We’re doing equal work and we all deserve to be compensated in the same way.’
“I wouldn’t feel good going to work knowing someone was getting X amount and I was getting something greater.”
Witherspoon, who is also an executive producer on The Morning Show, said that more and more women are having their voices heard in Hollywood
She said: “Jen and I probably wouldn’t have been able to make this show 10 years ago – but now people are taking us more seriously as creators and producers.”
Radio Times magazine is available now.