Jennifer Aniston’s home was swatted in an incident now being investigated by Los Angeles police.
An anonymous male caller phoned authorities Friday evening to request a welfare check on his supposed friend, who he claimed was “not doing well,” as law enforcement insiders told TMZ.
The Emmy-winning “Friends” star, 55, was not mentioned by name during the call, during which the caller alleged his friend had “alluded to seeing him on the other side,” as the outlet put it.
The caller ended up giving the dispatcher Aniston’s address, where authorities arrived shortly after midnight, only to be stopped by shocked security.
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They then spoke with the “Morning Show” actress and producer, who noted she was completely fine and didn’t harbor any intentions to hurt herself.
Should they get another call for Aniston’s address, authorities told TMZ they’ll first check in with her security before dispatching officers to the residence.
LAPD is now investigating the incident, which is part of a disturbing and dangerous prank trend that has found other famous victims in the past several years.
The hoaxes generally involve a phony call to emergency services reporting a bogus incident to trigger a large dispatch of armed officers to the address in question. In addition to tying up first responders, the pranks run the risk of endangering the occupants of the targeted property.
A-list victims of swatting have included Tom Cruise, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Rihanna, to name a few, though regular folks have also found their homes swatted.
Earlier this year, federal authorities linked a Serbian individual to over 100 swatting calls, including many that targeted the administration of President Biden.
Last October, Gov. Hochul’s office said that over 10 New York school districts had recently been victims of swatting in incidents that were thought to possibly have ties to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.