Friends Superfan Lena Waithe Hilariously Recalls Meeting “President” Jennifer Aniston

Lena Waithe recently shared with Jimmy Kimmel how meeting Jennifer Aniston was like meeting a “former president.” She also had a special message for the Friends cast ahead of the reunion.

By Kisha Forde May 26, 2021 12:38 PMTags

If you thought you were the biggest fan of Jennifer Aniston—just wait until you hear from Lena Waithe.
 
During an appearance on the May 25th episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Lena recalled meeting the Friends star at the premiere of The Morning Show in late 2019 and jokingly compared the encounter to meeting someone that was once in control of the free world.
 
"I swear—you know how you see a president, that's a former president, but you still have to call them ‘Mr. President?'" Lena joked. "That's what it's like when she's out in the world. Like, there's an assembly line of people waiting to pay their respects. They're bringing oils and sage and all kinds of stuff."
 
The Emmy winner continued, "She's super chill, laid back, and just such a lovely human."
 
The introduction probably served a complete full circle moment for the Netflix star since she also confessed to host Jimmy Kimmel in 2018 that she had a huge crush on the 52-year-old actress and even incorporated her (as a poster on her wall) into the Master of None episode that earned her an Emmy.

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On her adoration of the actress at the time, she shared, "The thing is something about Jennifer was just dope. Yes, she was an attractive woman and continues to be, like fine wine—just gets better with time."

And now Lena—who also first gushed in the same interview about much of a Friends fan she truly was—is back with a request for the cast ahead of their much-awaited HBO Max reunion on May 27.
 
"Friends reunion is coming up…and I'm gonna watch it but I gotta tell the Friends cast this," she shared. "They gotta bring the heat because The Fresh Prince of Bel Air reunion [is like] set the bar pretty high."
 
"I just hope somebody from the Friends' cast got something they want to get off their chest," Lena quipped. "If not, I don't really know what we're doing here."

The screenwriter also dished on her inspiration behind season three of her and Aziz Ansari's award winning Netflix series. Watch the interview above to find out what it is!