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Jennifer Aniston's TV interviews net trouble and backlash

By April MacIntyre Aug 21, 2010, 19:50 GMT

Maybe give it a rest for now - Jennifer Aniston - "The Switch" Los Angeles Premiere - Arrivals - The ArcLight Cinemas - Hollywood, CA, USA © David Gabber / PR Photos

Jennifer Aniston may want to rethink booking any more TV interviews promoting her film, as they invariably veer into the subject of her personal life, a major punching bag for tabloid media.

Last week saw Aniston get into it with Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly over the notion of single motherhood, with O'Reilly castigating the former Friends star for promoting an unbalanced approach to raising children.

This past week Jennifer Aniston inserted her foot in mouth offending a wide swath of people with her casual use of "retard" - now referred to by PC language police as the "R-word".

Aniston first tackled the uproar over Bill O'Reilly's recent comments about her views of single motherhood because "it was just such an unfair statement that he made against me."

O'Reilly countered Aniston's belief that it was fine for a woman to have a child without a husband, and noted his belief that the devaluation of men / fathers serving a key role in a child's psychological development was the true core of the issue.

Promoting her new film, "The Switch" Aniston addressed comments made by O'Reilly that painted the single motherhood premise in the film "destructive to our society."

During a Thursday appearance on Live with Regis & Kelly, Aniston said "retard" while chatting about the Harper's Bazaar photo shoot.

When Regis quipped, “You’re playing dress up!” Aniston says, "Yes, I play dress up! I do it for a living, like a retard.”

In a statement released to TV Guide, a representative for the Special Olympics commented, "The Special Olympics is always disappointed when the R-word is used, especially by someone who is influential to society. The pervasive use of the R-word, even in an off the cuff self-deprecating manner, dehumanizes people with intellectual disabilities and perpetuates painful stereotypes that are a great source of suffering and negative stigma."