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Dear Team Aniston (and others), quit celebrating Brangelina break-up

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Shreya Biswas
Shreya BiswasSep 22, 2016 | 11:43

Dear Team Aniston (and others), quit celebrating Brangelina break-up

Ever since the news of Angelina Joile and Brad Pitt divorcing hit social media, half the world forgot all that's wrong with Planet Earth and took to gossiping. Out went the warmongers demanding a nuclear war with Pakistan over the Uri attack, and in came the crowd rejoicing over the breaking of a family.

Even people who had, until now, known little about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, joined the trend. After all, it was the BIGGEST news out there, right?

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And then, there were the Rachel Greene fans. We get it, you pitched for Team Jennifer Aniston when she and Pitt broke up and Jolie slid in. And now you think its karma biting Brangelina in the rear.

But why the heck are we so happy about it?

It's one thing to make funny reactions to sensitive news. Social media has built in us an impulse to process news with humour. So sure, you can enjoy all the Brangelina jokes, but here's why most of the reactions to the break-up are 50 shades of wrong.

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Remember, they have six kids, aged eight to 15. (Photo credit: AP) 

1) They have six children

The divorce is not breaking up just Brangelina, it's breaking up a family. Their oldest, Maddox, is 15 and definitely has access to social media. The boy, whom Brad adopted as his own when he was four, is reading the "funny headlines" that tabloids have to make and all the vicious jokes the Twitterati unleashed.

So, the next time you're guffawing at these headlines, remember there are six kids, aged eight to 15, in the mix.

2) Enough with the Aniston memes

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Yes, she is our very own Rachel Greene, our homegirl from FRIENDS. And it did break many hearts when the institution that was Brad and Jennifer split in 2005. But it's been over 10 years and Aniston has found love. She can do better than make merry over Pitt's divorce.

Seriously, take a look at Aniston's husband, Justin Theroux. And even if he wasn't in the picture, Aniston herself has a life and career successful enough to have moved on a lifetime ago.

There is speculation of her siding with the Jolie-haters but the same report says Aniston "never wished this on them".

So these pitiful memes and gifs that we're sharing only show that we love to hate; hate people who don't know us and haven't done us any personal harm.

3) You're hating a person who's done more than most to help the world

No one quite knows what went down when Aniston and Pitt separated. But we have, especially the so-called "TeamJen", loved branding Jolie as a "homebreaker".

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Well, in case you forgot, this "homebreaker" did more than just "break" your dream couple. She has survived drug abuse, suicidal tendency disorder, two previous broken marriages, and done more than most of us to try and make this world a better place as a UN goodwill ambassador.

So if her divorce from Pitt is "karma being a bitch", then what do we think karma has in store for her for this:

4) Even celebrities deserve moments of privacy

We love scandals and juicy gossip. If that weren't true, reality shows wouldn't be so much in demand, and people like KRK and Kim Kardashian would fall off the earth's face.

But where do we draw the line? When do we stop rejoicing a divorce, especially of two people who have not come down to our door and harmed us ever personally?

Currently making rounds fo social media is a copy of Jolie and Pitt's divorce papers. We understand the demand for celebrity pictures - of babies, baby bumps and stars sans make-up - but snapshots of divorce papers?

It's also safe to say that right now, boatloads of reports and paparazzi are pestering Jolie for comments. Because she owes the world an explanation for what she does in her personal life, right?

The coverage of George Clooney's reaction upon learning about Brangelina's divorce goes to show to what extent we are ready to go grab a bit of juicy news.

Clooney, who is known to be close friends with the couple and clearly had no clue about the divorce, was slapped with the piece of news on camera.

There you go. Star reporting.

5) Most importantly, let's not forget the more important news out there

It is big news, granted. Entertainment journalists could survive on this for a week at least. And Brangelina fans will mope around for even longer. But it's not a political debate, or a global catastrophe, or a social crisis that turns your life upside down.

The news of Brangelina's divorce is eclipsing news that really matters. For example, The Washington Post broke the story of how Donald Trump is using huge sums of money from his charitable organisation to settle legal disputes in his various businesses.

Then, there was the news of the UN refugee summit currently taking place in New York. But that lost its value to a UN goodwill ambassador's divorce reports.

And then, there was this:

As heartbroken as we may be (well, some of us are), we need to not forget that the world doesn't revolve around Brangelina. Pitt has survived one divorce, Jolie has survived two. They will get through this one as well.

So, leave them alone. It's a divorce. And anless you are Billy Bob Thornton, Jonny Lee Miller, or Jennifer Aniston, quit the celebration. We can do better things with our lives.

Also read: So long, Brangelina. Marriage ruined you

Also read: Angelina Jolie has done the right thing by calling it off with Brad Pitt

Last updated: September 22, 2016 | 11:43
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