The short answer is “hell no.” That is, unless you’re also the same person that finds death or tragedy comical. Let me start by saying that I’m not one to talk. When it comes to humor, I’m not exactly considered a tastemaker, but I know where the line is and when it’s safe to cross it. This week, we learned that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are divorcing. My immediate reaction was sadness.
Personally, I have always been rooting for those two – they seemed to have it all. Notice my use of the word “seemed” in that last sentence. Celebrities are these god-like figures that we think we know. In reality, we don’t know shit about them. All of our celebrity information is being presented to us by the media, which is laughable in its own right.
I got pretty pissed when I started seeing jokes circulating about their split. They were mainly memes of Jennifer Aniston in some sort of joyous state, which I feel is the cheapest joke on the planet. Do you really think Jennifer is happy? I can say that if my ex-husband got remarried, grew a huge family, and then got divorced, I’d be devastated for him and everyone involved. In the same regard that I would be devastated if someone close to me died. Divorce is the death of a marriage, and death is never funny.
For the record, their oldest son is Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt, who is 15 years old. Next is Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt, ringing in at age 12. Unless they are opposed to it, most likely they’re on social media. How do you think they feel when they read tweets like this? They’re most likely grieving the divorce of their parents, and have the added torment of being trolled online. Yes, their parents are actors, but they are still people. People with feelings and emotions just like you and I. It doesn’t give anyone the right to bully them.
And then there’s this New York Post cover (we all know they are trash, but this puts them at the bottom of a rancid dumpster):
This is wrong, and I’m sure Jennifer Aniston is thoroughly embarrassed by this whole situation <again>. She’s shown laughing here, as though she’s hysterically thrilled that this is happening. I doubt she finds any of this news funny in the slightest. Her feelings about their divorce are private, and she shouldn’t be dragged into this – it demonizes her for no apparent reason.
Why this is shocking to me is that we live in 2016, which is a year that humor has changed. I couldn’t make the same jokes on Twitter I did years ago without being lambasted. Why doesn’t the divorced community have a stronger voice opposed to this? Why do divorcees sit in silence as people troll the entire subject to death? I’m goddamn sick of it. Just because my marriage didn’t go as planned, it doesn’t give anyone the right to have an opinion on it, except for the parties involved.
As I’m writing this column, new reports are surfacing of Brad Pitt having an affair or possibly physically abusing his children. Is that still funny? I’m just curious – I’m trying to grasp all of this. Will the “comedians” who posted cruel jokes about Brangelina delete their tweets or other posts? I doubt it. After all, we live in a society that will do anything for “likes,” and until enough people such as myself say “I’M FED UP,” it will just continue. In the meantime, please respect the divorced community – for you never know what your future holds.
