More than anything, this piece speaks to the compromising of ones individuality and ones principles that are necessary for having a successful career in certain areas--particularly those careers that put one in the public eye.

One can become outraged, then radicalized, upon learning what one must do to become a success, rebel, fight the good fight...and remain a lifelong "starving artist" with, perhaps a small but intensely loyal, "cult" following. Or one can decide to be pragmatic, "hold ones nose" whilst doing things that are offensive to ones sense of self, in the hopes of achieving eventual success (perhaps even coaching/counselling others to compromise their principles, as well), knowing that, in the long run, success can buy oneself the very sort of power that affords one the ability to finally be true to oneself...and--who knows?--maybe even become a force for change in "the system."

It doesn't help matters, either, to observe the occasional male actor being accepted--even celebrated--as an eccentric while watching an endless array of actresses who don't fit the "starlet" mold being either reshaped into something unrecognizable or dumped altogether.

It's enough to drive any self-respecting woman crazy.

All of the above aside, though, it is an ugly little secret (one that we feminists are loathe to admit publicly) that women friends can be merciless to one another over any slight--whether that slight is perceived or actual. And once a typical woman feels slighted in this manner, she'll often call in favors among others, demanding that they chose sides ("If you want to work with/remain friendly with me, then she's out!"). Frankly, I've not observed males being that vengeful toward one another. (Maybe they fight it out, one on one, and then let it go?) I strongly suspect that "Jane" was deeply offended by some (perhaps small) thing that Nancy had done in the year and a half that they knew one another, and, once "Jane" had some influence in the acting field, Nancy's opportunities became even-more-severely limited than they had been by Nancy's not fitting the "starlet" mold.

Will Salon be releasing a grocery store rag soon?

I'm sure she's got loads of dish on you. So, don't let her do you any favors, and, be nice to her no matter what if your book is a bestseller. In other words, don't be a real human being, don't have a normal relationship with her, and, one more thing, don't outgrow the friendship.

'Cause she's watching you. And two years down the road, when she needs a little money, she's going to write about her good o' friend "Cindy", who worked on Salon.com, and...

is it high school already? I must have overslept... it was junior high just a little while ago.

"[T]his piece speaks to the compromising of ones individuality and ones principles that are necessary for having a successful career in certain areas."

Does Nancy Balbirer realize that she's talking about herself, much more so than 'Jen Doe'?

Or maybe she was talking about Salon, come to think of it.

Xema, did you even read the article? I think you've got the characters reversed. Why would this chick hold onto this thing for 11 years if she was so vengeful? Why would C.W. prod her into doing this interview, after other "yellow" j-istes were hounding her without success? I thought Salon readers were smarter than tabloidies. Guess not.

... she'd get a callback.

I just can't figure out why Salon is so fascinated with Jennifer Aniston. Wasn't it just a month or two ago that Salon was publishing Rebecca Traister's paean to The Jennifer?

I think she's an OK actress, even good at times, but she certainly doesn't deserve all this attention.

I can't imagine the relevance of this article to Salon's readers. Weekly World News readers, sure. But having this article appear next to articles about the Bush Katrina video and the dire crisis that the nation is in? C'mon, Salon, bump up the editorial standards a couple notches.

I'm not going to write a letter saying I "don't care" about this. I do care - I care that time, space, and work on Salon.com are being eaten up by interviews with some woman who knew Jennifer Aniston once.

Just stop it.

Yes, you're all right that this is a waste of space and that this woman is an opportunist out to get revenge or whatever.

But that doesn't mean it isn't true, and I'm willing to bet it is.

It's a sad day that the majority of our society wants to know more about Jennifer. This is the first I've heard of this story, and I'm a bit confused. Where in this is anyone actually pointed at as being "Jane"? More importantly, yes, Nancy Balbirer seems to be avoiding the tabloids, and I think it's great that Salon felt it was a good idea to get the story.....however, this is all a pbulicity stunt that seems to have backfired on Nancy Balbirer.

The thing about our society though, so many people are way too involved in celebrities lives. What's the big deal, they are people just like us. So what, they have more money, they can "have it all" but they don't. They still are people.

Thank you Salon for publishing something light, just next time, don't fall for the bait of someone trying to get their 15 minutes, just because.

Nancy McBitterpants,

Jesus, what happened when you two were roommates? did she borrow your fave BeBe sweater and, like, stretch it all out with her ice-hardened nips? did she take your last Diet Sprite without even asking, or offering to replace it?

whatever she did, it must have kind of sucked, because it's eleven years later and apparently you're still miffed. you've gone to considerable trouble to paint your ex-roomie as cunning and shallow for the apparent crime of daring to possess enough intelligence to understand that Hollywood is a machine, and that a machine can be manipulated to make it do what you want.

i guess we're supposed to be appalled by "Jane's" savvy. but tell you what. if the things you report are true, it just makes me think, "you go, Jane!" she worked the machine and achieved her goals. bully for her. she's a talented comedian and actor, and she deserves success as much as any talented actor does. apparently, Ms. McBitterpants, you couldn't figure out how to achieve your own success, so now you're reduced to rooting around in the celebrity mud. sucks for you.

but please, spare us your self-righteousness disguised as empathy. so Jen got a nose job and stuck stuff in her bra, and that made you sad because she sold out? puh-lease. kind of hard to claim the moral high ground when you're shilling your decade-old roommate experiences for fame.

you're icky, Nancy. icky, icky, icky.

--M

p.s. i'm so on board with the person who expressed deep disappointment in Cintra Wilson over this piece o' crap interview. not only is your taste in friends questionable, but for Christ's sake, stop over-plucking your brows!