Story highlights
Many have referenced Brangelina in wake of Aniston-Theroux engagement
CNN commenters have taken sides, perpetuating a fictitious (we imagine) rivalry
Some commenters' well wishes for Aniston were masked by unkind words for Jolie
It’s been seven years since “Team Aniston” and “Team Jolie” T-shirts were flying off the shelves. Now, with rings on their fingers, it seems both women have moved on, yet the saga continues.
Many people are referencing Brangelina in the wake of Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux’s engagement. And if countless headlines like, “Anything Brad can do! As Pitt set to wed Angelina Jolie, ex-wife Jennifer Aniston announces her engagement…” are any indication, the media has no intention of giving up on the love triangle.
Even CNN commenters have taken sides, perpetuating a fictitious (we imagine) rivalry between the actresses.
Opinion: We care that Aniston’s getting married. Why?
“Brad so traded down … Congrats Jenn & Justin I hope you all beat the odds and live happily ever after,” commenter Wilder Napalm wrote.
Some commenters’ well wishes were masked by unkind words for Jolie: “She’s the underdog! we always root for the underdog. Brad Pitt left her for a puffy lipped bomb shell! She got dumped! plus the entire world talked about it.. So you Go Jen!” james648 wrote.
Aniston has also received her fair share of flak: “Something must be wrong with her, Brad dropped her like a bad habit.”
So why continue picking sides?
“We like to take sides on everything,” said Fraser Ross, who owns Kitson, a boutique that sold Team Aniston and Team Jolie shirts back in 2005. “The thing with Jen is that she was in peoples’ living rooms for (10) years. … People felt like they were one of her friends … whereas Angelina wasn’t in our living rooms.”
That might be why Team Aniston shirts sold faster than Team Jolie shirts, Ross said, adding, “It was 25 to one at the beginning.”
But don’t feel bad for Jolie just yet. Her fans have since shown support by purchasing “Adopt Me Angelina” paraphernalia.
“My guess is that most people on Team Jolie would not be focusing on the fact that Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston for her,” said James C. Kaufman, a professor of psychology at California State University at San Bernardino and editor of the APA journal of Psychology of Popular Media Culture. “They’re more seeing Jolie as this strong independent single woman who is both happily (engaged) and successful in her career and doing all this stuff with the travel and the charity and these generally positive things.”
“Team Aniston,” Kaufman added, “more identifies with the girl next-door side who has been screwed over by her man.”
Even though both women are engaged, Ross said he doesn’t anticipate any “Mrs. Pitt” or “Mrs. Theroux” T-shirts.
“We don’t want to dig up the past,” he said.
Some CNN commenters, like Kkkkatie, echoed his sentiment: “I don’t condone cheaters (if that is what happened with Brad and Angelina, who REALLY knows) but what I do know is that life is too short to stay in an unhappy marriage. I think it’s absurd that the public want to paint Jen as this ‘wronged’ woman for the rest of her life. My God folks, lets just move on and let it go!”
