Fact Check: Was Jennifer Aniston targeted by Just Stop Oil? Viral oil video debunked

A viral video going around social media has got people thinking that Jennifer Aniston was allegedly targeted by Just Stop Oil protestors. The video, posted on X (formerly Twitter) by user @RareImagery on Monday, July 29, showcased the actress drenched in what looked like tar and appearing surprised. The video was taken from a TikTok handle named @ilyjenaniston.

The video, taken on Sunday, July 28, showcases Aniston in the center of what looked like an environmental protest, filming a video on her phone. The actress is startled when a person throws a black substance, allegedly tar, on her. The people around her carried banners with slogans like "Extinction revolt", "Truth Warrior", and "Fighting for our future" written on them.

Jennifer Aniston is later identified by a protestor who pointed at a summit that could not be seen and claimed that it was a front for "big oil." He gave drenched Aniston, a summary of why they were protesting the summit. The video went viral on X, amassing over 2.4 million views.

However, Jennifer Aniston was not targeted by Just Stop Oil. The whole thing was just a scene being filmed for the fourth season of Aniston and Reese Witherspoon's Apple TV+ drama, The Morning Show.

This is evidenced by the director yelling "cut" at the end of the video. People magazine also confirmed that the video was from the show's set via an Instagram post on Monday.

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Jennifer Aniston was not targeted by Just Stop Oil

The viral video going around claiming to showcase a drenched-in-tar Jennifer Aniston being targeted by Just Stop Oil is fake news. X account @RareImagery captioned its tweet of the video:

"The people protesting big oil threw oil on Jennifer Aniston and she looks confused and horrified. Why do you think they targeted her?"

This was immediately stuck down by a context note added to the X post by readers, which read:

"Jennifer Aniston was filming a scene on a series called “The Morning Show” where oil got thrown on her as part of the scene. OP is misleading as if it was Jennifer being surprised by the oil and not her character."

@RareImagery's viral tweet (Image via X/@RareImagery)

Moreover, in most of the video, none of the supposed protestors actually chant anything or make noise. The extras on set can be seen mouthing their words as the central characters spoke and only made noise on cue.

Adding to that, the protestor Aniston talks to in the video clip addresses her as 'Alex Levy', which is the name of Aniston's character on The Morning Show.

Earlier this month, Jennifer Aniston confirmed that filming had started for the fourth season of her Apple TV + show. She took to Instagram to post a picture alongside her co-stars Reese Witherspoon and Tig Notario. She captioned her post:

"Let @themorningshow season 4 games begin 🥳 Here we come! ❤️👏🏼👏🏼❤️🥂"

The Morning Show revolves around the day-to-day workings of a fictional news program covering relevant real-world topics and two rival anchors Alex, played by Aniston, and Bradley, played by Witherspoon.

The critically acclaimed show managed to reign in 16 2024 Emmy Award nominations, including the award for Outstanding Drama Series.

All three seasons of the show are available to stream on Apple TV +. The fourth season of the show has not yet revealed its premiere date.