“What the f–k is going on? Am I in a cult?”: Jennifer Aniston’s Bizarre Life-Changing Experience at a Party Before ‘Friends’ Fame

Jennifer Aniston is known globally for starring as Rachel in the TV series Friends. The sitcom was a cultural juggernaut, making her one of the highest-paid television actresses of all time. The final episode of the series was also the fifth most-watched series finale in television history.

Due to her huge mass appeal, she has been in the public eye, with the media bringing her personal life to the headlines. In an interview with Allure, Aniston spoke about a particularly tough time in her life and how she is rising from the ashes of that phase. However, what grabbed everyone’s attention, even more, was a bizarre ritualistic experience at a party she attended before she starred in her hit TV show.

Jennifer Aniston’s Shot To Fame

Jennifer Aniston in Friends

Jenifer Aniston comes from a family of actors. Both her parents were actors and while she moved to New York when she was a child, she kept herself busy on the stage at her high school. She was in the school’s production of Three Sisters, a play by Anton Chekov.

She moved back to Los Angeles after appearing in a few Off-Broadway productions. While she saw little success in a few pilots and independent features, her life changed when she was cast in the sitcom Friends. Jennifer Aniston played Rachel Green, a rich twenty-something who runs away from her marriage and reconnects with her high-school friend Monica Geller and her friends. The show ran for ten seasons and has been considered one of the best television shows of all time.

The Cast of Friends

Aniston’s portrayal of Rachel earned her five Emmy nominations, where she won once for Best Lead Actress. She also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. Along with her co-stars on the show, she earned a whopping $1 million per episode, making her one of the highest-paid actors on television. The show was also one of the most-viewed shows in history. Her hairstyle in the series was termed ‘The Rachel’ and was a pop-cultural phenomenon.

After returning to film work, Jennifer Aniston made headlines again in the 2000s for her highly publicized relationship and marriage with star Brad Pitt. However, the couple divorced in 2005, which was also heavily publicized due to allegations of Pitt cheating on Aniston with future-wife Angelina Jolie.

The Bizarre Ritual That Gave Jennifer Aniston Her Own Friends

Jennifer Aniston

In an interview with Allure magazine in 2022, Jennifer Aniston opened up about her difficulties with conceiving a child and her mental health. She revealed various IVF treatments she underwent and how she failed to conceive despite multiple attempts. She said,

“…All the years and years and years of speculation… It was really hard. I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it…So here I am today. The ship has sailed.”

She also referred to the media scrutiny she was subjected to during her divorce, addressing the rumor that Brad Pitt had initiated the divorce because Aniston had refused to have a child. She mentioned,

“I just cared about my career. And God forbid a woman is successful and doesn’t have a child. And the reason my husband left me, why we broke up and ended our marriage, was because I wouldn’t give him a kid. It was absolute lies. I don’t have anything to hide at this point.”

Also read: “I had a bubble B*tt and I was teased”: Jennifer Aniston Started Hating Her B*tt After Relentless Bodyshaming in Hollywood

The actor also revealed many other updates and incidents from her life that she credits to have made her the person she is now. Talking about her break into Hollywood in 1989, she mentions the one party she attended in 1989 that changed her life and gave her an experience of a lifetime.

“This girl says, ‘Come with us. We’re doing a circle.’ I was like, ‘What’s a circle?’ It was all women and they saged you before you went in…The women call in the four directions, and I’m like, ‘What the f*ck is going on? Am I in a cult?’ Hours later, woman after woman, just speaking…That’s how I got into that world, which I guess would be called Woo Woo.”

Aniston said that the ‘Woo Woo girls’ were still her closest friends and that she met her producing partner Kristin Hahn at the party. The duo found Echo Films together and have since produced films and shows like The Morning Show, Murder Mystery 2, and The Switch.