Jennifer Aniston's 1998 Interview with David Letterman Has Resurfaced, and Viewers Are Horrified

Since the Framing Britney Spears documentary was released, there has been renewed outrage about the treatment of female celebrities in the public eye. As a result, various old interviews have resurfaced, demonstrating how women were put in uncomfortable positions while trying to carry out their jobs.

After a video of a 2013 Lindsay Lohan interview (opens in new tab) with David Letterman went viral, in which the TV host could be seen grilling the actress insensitively on an upcoming trip to rehab, another of Letterman's interviews is now doing the rounds. This one, dating back to 1998, features actress Jennifer Aniston promoting her movie The Object of My Affection, and it's not particularly pleasant to watch.

In it, the now-73-year-old talk show host goes off topic, saying, "Forgive me if this is rude, I just want to try one thing." He then swivels his chair behind Aniston, puts a hand on her neck, and begins sucking a strand of her hair. Amid the bizarre move, the Friends star lets out a shriek and asks, "What are you doing?" while looking extremely uncomfortable. Letterman then passes Aniston a tissue, and she looks entirely grossed-out while drying the piece of hair he put in his mouth.

All in all, the whole thing is quite painful to watch, and it's caused a bit of a stir. Over on Twitter, the behavior in the video has been labeled "creepy" and "disgusting." The Lindsay Lohan video, too, has seen a huge reaction; it's been watched over 11 million times, with viewers calling it misogynistic and rude.

The resurfacing of such videos has reignited a conversation about the way women are treated in the media, and people have rightly pointed out that such interactions would never pass now. Which is great, and everything, but it's still depressing to think they ever happened in the first place.