In 2021, everyone knows who Jennifer Aniston is. But back in 1995, that wasn’t quite the case — at least for Adam Duritz, who briefly dated the actress. The Counting Crows frontman revealed in a snippet of VICE TV’s upcoming series Dark Side of the ’90s that when he met the Friends star, he “honestly had no idea who she was.”
According to VICE TV’s website, their Dark Side of the ‘90s series will premiere Thursday, July 15, and take “a deep dive into the decade’s untold history, revealing secrets.” One of the first of these secrets is the story of how Duritz met Aniston. In an Entertainment Tonight sneak peek of the series, the “Mr. Jones” musician said he first saw Aniston at The Viper Room in West Hollywood.
“A bunch of my friends lied to me and told me she had a crush on me,” he said. “Those same friends lied to her and told her I had a crush on her.”
The Viper Room is famous for a number of things, including being the location where River Phoenix died of a drug overdose in 1993. Back in the day, it was owned by a young Kate Moss-dating Johnny Depp, and served as the exclusive hangout for the entertainment industry’s biggest names and faces, including Leo Dicaprio. In spite of this, though, Duritz knew neither Aniston’s name nor face when they first crossed paths. “I had been on the road during all of Friends,” he said. “I had never seen it, I don’t think.”
The two only dated for a very brief period of time, as confirmed by Duritz, who said, “It didn’t last very long, but she’s a nice girl.”
Since then, Jen has starred in much bigger projects, Counting Crows has put out several albums (including 2021 release Butter Miracle Suite One), and The Viper Room is now a grunge rock music venue rather than a second home for Hollywood’s elite.
Watch the Dark Side of the ‘90s trailer here:
