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In a recent round of publicity interviews for Rob Reiner's latest cinematic reminder that the days of Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride are long over, Rumor Has It, Jennifer Aniston was paired with co-star Shirley MacLaine, who felt the need to protect the younger actress from the prying questions of reporters who had the audacity to broach the subject of her much-rumored-about personal life. But then wacky Auntie Shirley had to take the bodyguard act a smidge too far:

Before Aniston could answer, MacLaine deflected the question by saying she'd like to confirm a rumour.


"I'd like to confirm that Vince Vaughn prefers older women and that Jennifer is just my beard. It was me in the car with Vince in Arizona and I was looped.

"I'm having a ball and Jennifer is taking all the guff," said MacLaine, defying anyone to pursue the question further.

If there is even a kernel of truth in MacLaine's kooky claim that Aniston is her "beard," there could be cause for serious concern. As is often the case in these situations, what can start as a mere PR ploy of convenience can quickly escalate into MacLaine locking Jennifer in an empty FAO Schwarz, as she manically performs a "mysteries of reincarnation" stuffed animal puppet show for her terrified captive audience.