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Jennifer Aniston hits back at critics for shaming women: 'We are seen as useless'

Sharnaz Shahid
Deputy Online Editor
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Jennifer Aniston recently spoke of the "shame" she faced as a woman following her divorce from ex-husband Brad Pitt. And once again, the Hollywood actress has voiced her frustration, claiming women are still seen through a "very narrow lens" to highlight their success.

"We're seeing women through that very narrow lens of what we're reduced down to," she explained during an appearance on Thursday's episode of Lorraine. "If we don't have a baby, or white picket fence, or a husband then we're useless and we aren't living up to our purpose."

Earlier this year, the Friends star - who is happily married to Justin Theroux - was forced to deny rumours she was expecting a child after pictures emerged alongside a story which suggested she was pregnant. The 47-year-old went on to hit back at the reports in a candid essay for Huffington Post, confessing she did not like being "whittled down to a sad, childless human".

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aniston 2z© Photo: ITV

Jennifer Aniston has said women are seen through a "very narrow lens" to highlight their success

Explaining herself further to chat show host Lorraine, Jennifer added: "Women need to be [kinder], sadly and it's true… it's shocking to me that we're not changing the conversation [as women] in support, we've come so far."

The American actress also talked about her husband and his "incredible" family as she discussed spending time with her loved ones this festive period. "[They’re an] incredible family," she said. "All of them, each different and interesting and fabulous. They're an incredible family." After the collapse of her five-year marriage to Brad, Jennifer went on to marry film producer Justin in August 2015 in a private ceremony in Los Angeles.

jen 2z© Photo: Getty Images

The Friends star was recently forced to deny rumours she was expecting a child

Finally, Jennifer went on to discuss the possibility of reprising her role as Rachel Green in the hit sitcom Friends. "Honestly I don't know what we would do," she explained. "I think that period of time was nostalgic, our faces weren't stuffed into cell phones, we weren’t checking Facebook and Instagram. We were in a room together, we were in a coffee shop talking having conversations, we have lost that."