A photo of former "Friends" star Jennifer Aniston covered in what looked like petroleum oil in New York City caused a social media frenzy in late July 2024.
Multiple posts on X, including this one shared on July 29, initially claimed: "Furious Jennifer Aniston gets oil thrown at her on 'The Morning Show' set…"
The image showed the 55-year-old actress looking shocked and angry as someone threw a black, sticky substance on her, ruining her white shirt and beige pants.
Meanwhile, a July 30 Reddit post added to the claim, suggesting that "Oil Thrown At Jennifer Aniston On The Sets Of 'The Morning Show' [Comes] Days After Her Comment Against J.D. Vance."
The Reddit post was referencing Aniston's reaction to 2024 Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance's resurfaced comment about "childless cat ladies," which Snopes outlined below. The post appeared to suggest someone threw oil on the actress due to her response to Vance.
Oil Thrown At Jennifer Aniston On The Sets Of ‘The Morning Show’ Days After Her Comment Against J.D. Vance
by u/straightedge23 in howyoudoin
However, while the photo was authentic, the drama was scripted.
While many social media posts about the incident initially suggested Aniston was confronted by a mob of angry protesters during filming, it swiftly transpired that she was actually in character for "The Morning Show," and those posts were either amended or removed to reflect the new information.
Indeed, Aniston was in character as Alex Levy when the oil incident occurred during the filming of her Apple TV+ series "The Morning Show," as part of a scripted scene for the drama's fourth season, which was in production at the time of this writing.
Fans online were initially alarmed by the photos, but multiple news outlets soon clarified that the oil-throwing was part of a planned protest scene where demonstrators threw the black substance on Aniston's character.
The following day, on July 30, after the initial social media frenzy alleged that Aniston was doused in the tar-like substance by angry protesters, entertainment news outlet TMZ's X account posted, "Jennifer Aniston Has Fake Oil Thrown On Her While Filming 'Morning Show' Protest Scene."
That X post linked to a longer explanation of the incident on the outlet's website, which stated, "TMZ also obtained video from Jennifer's on location shoot Sunday in Manhattan … showing her getting animated amid a sea of extras."
Snopes found photos of the incident on Getty Images, with multiple captions explaining that Aniston was filming "The Morning Show" Season 4 in the Flatiron District on July 28, 2024, in New York City. One photo example from Getty, below, showed multiple cameras filming the moment Aniston — recently nominated for an Emmy award for Lead Actress in a Drama Series — was doused in oil.
(Getty Images)
Snopes contacted the production team behind "The Morning Show" to confirm what the black liquid was, but did not immediately hear back. However, it appeared to be imitating oil for the purpose of the scene.
Therefore, the oil-throwing was for a role she was playing and had nothing to do with her comments about Vance.
The actress responded to comments made by Vance in 2021, to then-Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson, that resurfaced in July 2024. Vance labeled women who do not become mothers as "a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they've made, and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable, too."
In response to Vance's remarks, Aniston — who has been open about her own struggles to conceive — reportedly took to her Instagram story on July 25, 2024, to call out the Ohio U.S. senator, writing: "I truly can't believe that this is coming from a potential VP of the United States," and, "I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day. I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option."
Snopes previously debunked rumors regarding Aniston, including the false claim she was launching a "Celebrities For Trump" advocacy group, and another false claim that a video showed her reacting to the death of her former co-star Matthew Perry.
