Pitting women in the public eye against each other is a fool’s game.
Not only does it contribute to the well-worn argument that the entertainment industry is an inherently sexist place where a woman’s age, image and relationship history play as big part in her career as her roles, it ultimately creates a culture of mistrust among women.
Back in 2004 however, we hadn’t properly gotten our heads around this concept, and were more than happy to nail our colours to the fence when it came to demise of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt’s fairytale romance.
She was the beautiful girl next door with the goofy sense of humour and he was the high school football player with the Letterman jacket.
And together they were perfect… until action was called on the set of Mr &Mrs Smith.
In stepped Miss. Jolie with her edgy roles and her vials of blood, and ultimately ‘lured’ Hollywood’s golden boy away from Hollywood’s golden girl.
As sales in TeamJolie and TeamAniston T-shirts increased 12 years ago, it was clear that Angelina and Jennifer played principle roles in the saga while Brad was given carte blanche to hover in the wings.
Buying into the girl Vs. girl culture, the media and public left good ol' Brad to his own devices, and instead debated what Angelina had that Jennifer didn’t.
And yet despite the rumours, reports and rising T-shirt sales, Jennifer didn’t play up to the ‘scorned woman’ role which the media so desperately wanted her to fulfil.
In the eye of a media storm, Jen endured one of the most painful things a person can experience, but as the wider world watched and predicted public breakdowns, she simply weathered the storm.
Jennifer maintained a dignified silence for more than a decade, she progressed in her movie career, and she had relationships of her own.
And one year ago, she married Justin Theroux.
In other words, Jen got on with it.
So, as news broke yesterday that the relationship which had cast a long shadow over Jennifer’s public and private life had come to an end, many of us couldn’t help but feel a sense of triumph on her part.
And with reports swirling that Brad had been having an affair with his co-star Marion Cottillard, the public found themselves suddenly furrowing a brow and casting Jen's ex in a different light.
Being TeamJen today doesn’t mean we’re not TeamJolie. It’s not one or the other, and it never should have been.
It’s simply a nod to the fact that Brad may have just been found out.
Angelina was never better than Jen. Jen was never better than Angelina.
It’s just that Brad thought he was better than both of them.
