Celebrity4 min(s) read
Published 11:03 04 Jun 2026 GMT
Jennifer Aniston made an unexpected comment about ex-husband Brad Pitt while looking back at her time on Friends.
During a joint interview for Variety’s Actors on Actors, the 57-year-old, who played Rachel Green alongside Lisa Kudrow, 62, as Phoebe Buffay, reminisced about the beloved NBC sitcom’s Thanksgiving-themed episodes.
"Those were great, the Thanksgiving episodes," Kudrow told Aniston. "When Brad was on, that was hilarious." Aniston responded: "I know... How funny."
Pitt’s cameo occurred in 2001 during his high-profile marriage to the Morning Show star.
He appeared in the season eight episode, 'The One with the Rumor,' playing Will Colbert, a former high school classmate who openly hated Aniston’s character - even co-founding an "I Hate Rachel" club with Ross Geller (Schwimmer).
The Emmy winner went on to highlight the impressive roster of "movie stars" who made guest appearances on the show alongside the core cast, which included Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and the late Matthew Perry.
"Brad, Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts, Isabella Rossellini," Aniston noted. "We had so many - Sean Penn."
Despite these celebrity guest stars being highly successful actors in their own right, she revealed that stepping onto the TV set was an intimidating experience.
"They were always nervous. Remember? I always found it fascinating how nervous they were," she said.
Kudrow agreed, explaining that the acting style required for a live-audience sitcom like Friends was a complete contrast to what film stars were used to.
"Well, because what's the tone?" Kudrow asked. "It's not theater; it’s for TV. It’s not a movie. What the hell is this? And it's a good question. And I remember someone asked one time. I didn’t know how to explain it, so I said, 'Oh, just talk louder. Same intention, just - '"
Aniston finished her sentence, laughing: "Just louder!"
While the former A-list couple split in 2005 after five years of marriage, the two have famously remained on good terms.
Aniston, who is now dating hypnotist Jim Curtis, previously revealed that she views her past marriages as successes, not failures.
"When they came to an end, it was a choice that was made because we chose to be happy, and sometimes happiness didn't exist within that arrangement anymore," she told Elle in 2018.
"Sure, there were bumps, and not every moment felt fantastic, obviously, but at the end of it, this is our one life and I would not stay in a situation out of fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of not being able to survive," she added.
While Aniston was fondly looking back on her time with Pitt, the actor has recently found himself back in the headlines over his relationship with his children.
According to legal documents obtained on May 28, Pitt's eldest son, Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt, has filed paperwork to legally change his name to Maddox Chivan Jolie.
The 24-year-old had already begun using the Jolie surname professionally. Earlier this year, he was credited as "Maddox Jolie" while working as an assistant director on his mother Angelina Jolie's film, Couture.
Maddox is one of six children Pitt shares with Jolie, alongside Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox.
Several of the siblings have also stopped publicly using the Pitt surname since their parents' split in 2016.
In 2023, Zahara introduced herself as "Zahara Marley Jolie" during her Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority induction. Vivienne was also listed as "Vivienne Jolie" in the Playbill for The Outsiders, a production she worked on with her mother.
Meanwhile, Shiloh filed legal paperwork to remove "Pitt" from her surname after turning 18 in May 2024.
At the time, her attorney, Peter Levine, defended the decision, saying: "The media should be more careful in their reporting, especially when covering a young adult who has made an independent and significant decision following painful events, and is merely following legal process."
The family fallout arrives nearly a decade after Jolie and Pitt’s separation.
The pair, who were married from 2014 to 2016, remain locked in legal disputes after Jolie filed a lawsuit alleging that Pitt had been abusive toward her and their children during a 2016 flight - an incident she claims led to the end of their marriage.
Pitt’s legal team has consistently denied all allegations.
.webp_ke6C2y?tr=cr-169.8.1505.1344,f-webp,q-70,w-100)
