Before Friends, Jennifer Aniston turned down an SNL offer, citing the “Boys’ Club” as the reason.
Jennifer Aniston Turned Down an SNL Offer
The worldwide fame Jennifer Aniston earned as Rachel Green from Friends is no secret.
But did you know that before making a splash with Friends, her destiny was leading her to NBC’s popular comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL)?
Yes, Jennifer received an offer to join the SNL cast, but she turned it down!
On the recent podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Jennifer recounted that twisted story.
A Friendship Connection to SNL
Jennifer explains that just before Friends began, she met SNL creator Lorne Michaels.
After the meeting, she met renowned comedians Adam Sandler and David Spade.
Her friendship with Sandler was a long-standing one—so old that it even predates Friends!
The two formed on the set of the 1990 series Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, in which Jennifer played Ferris’s sister.
Jennifer joked, “We met at Jerry’s Deli, probably in 1912!”
This shows that she already had close relationships with some of the biggest names on SNL.
The ‘Boys’ Club’ Thing and the Decision to Say No
Why did Jennifer turn down this big offer? She explained that she had a “self-righteous attitude” at the time.
She felt that women on the show weren’t given the respect they deserved.
In a 2021 interview, she explained, “I was very young and dumb, and I went into Lorne’s office and said, ‘I heard women aren’t respected on this show.'”
She expressed her desire to join only if the show was like the days of Gilda Radner and Jane Curtin.
According to Jennifer, SNL at the time was like a “boys’ club.”
Regrets about “Young Twit”?
Today, when she recalls that incident, she laughs at herself.
In 2019, she said that it was a “young twit” thing to say to Lorne Michaels.
He also said, “You’re not your brightest in your early 20s.”
Well, that decision proved to be absolutely correct!
Soon after turning down the SNL offer, she landed the role of Rachel Green on Friends, and the rest is history.
However, her love for SNL remained undiminished; she hosted the show twice, in 1999 and 2004, and she thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
This was Jennifer Aniston’s story: when a “no” turned her into Rachel Green!
What do you think? Was her decision the right one?
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