Jennifer Aniston Says She’s Skipping The Emmys Over Her Personal Safety As Delta Variant Rages On
Jennifer Aniston said she ‘will not be going’ to the 2021 Emmy Awards on Sept. 19, but director Ben Winston will accept on her behalf if she wins her nomination, during an interview on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live.’
Jennifer Aniston, 52, is not taking any chances when it comes to the steady spread of COVID-19 and the Delta variant strain, which is twice as contagious as the original virus and twice as likely to cause hospitalizations, according to a new British study. The actress appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Sept. 13 and admitted that although she’s nominated for an Emmy Award this year, she won’t be attending the ceremony for safety reasons. “No, I will not be going,” she said during the interview, adding that producer and director Ben Winston will attend and accept on her behalf, if her nomination for the Friends reunion wins. “This is a big step for me to just be here. Just baby steps.”
She explained to Jimmy that she’s been staying home a lot ever since the pandemic hit in early 2020 and has only been going out to film the second season of her show, The Morning Show, do press, and safely visit friends Courteney Cox and Jason Bateman. “We had this little bubble of friends — thank God, I love all of you so much — but yeah, it was hard. Weird times,” she said.
Although Jennifer has decided not to attend this year’s Emmys ceremony, the TV Academy is planning on taking safety precautions to all those who do decide to attend. Some of the precautions include limiting the show to around 600 guests, holding the event in an open-air tent on the L.A. Live deck in downtown Los Angeles, and requiring a proof of vaccination and proof of a negative COVID-19 test result for each guest.
Related Gallery
'Friends' Cast Then & Now -- See Photos Of Jennifer Aniston & More Through The Years
Unlike this year’s ceremony, last year’s Emmys were fully virtual and Jennifer appeared in the special along with Jimmy to hand out the first award. She ended up extinguishing a trash can fire during the coverage when a stint involving burning the winner’s envelope went wrong.
Luckily Jennifer won’t have to worry about that this time around when she enjoys the show from the comfort of he own home. Friends: The Reunion, which aired earlier in the year, is nominated for a total of four Emmy nominations this year, including Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special, and Outstanding Variety Special.