Jennifer Aniston is currently promoting Murder Mystery 2, a sequel to the popular Netflix film starring Aniston and Adam Sandler. These films must be a breeze to make, honestly – like all of Sandler’s films, or at least the ones he produces. This is the first promotional tour Aniston has done in a while (or at least that’s the way it feels), so of course she’s getting questions about Generation TikTok’s obsession with Friends. The youths love Friends, even if they have long-winded conversations about how some of the jokes in Friends are super-offensive and the show is too white and all of that.
As someone who watched Friends when it originally aired… it was seen as a popular “mid” comedy starring all white actors getting into shenanigans. It was fine for the time. I think it’s still popular with the youths not because of the comedy, but because it’s a glimpse of life and friendship before smartphones and social media. People actually hanging out and talking and living without being on their phones constantly. In any case, Aniston is upset because the youths keep yelling at her about how some of the jokes are offensive.
Jennifer Aniston recently told AFP (via Yahoo News) that “comedy has evolved” so much that it’s a bit tricky these days to be funny.
“Now it’s a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it really hard for comedians, because the beauty of comedy is that we make fun of ourselves, make fun of life,” Aniston said. “[In the past] you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were. And now we’re not allowed to do that.”
“There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of ‘Friends’ and find them offensive,” Aniston added. “There were things that were never intentional and others… well, we should have thought it through — but I don’t think there was a sensitivity like there is now.”
Aniston concluded: “Everybody needs funny! The world needs humor! We can’t take ourselves too seriously. Especially in the United States. Everyone is far too divided.”
Eh. I think it’s fine to shrug off the criticism of Friends in the year of our lord Beyonce 2023 because wtf are they supposed to do now? Go back and censor all of the jokes which offend people? That would be how I would react if I was in Aniston’s stilettos – shrug it off and say “that was the time, it was 25 years ago, that’s what was funny then.” Sometimes the jokes don’t hold up, sometimes they do, and that’s life. I dislike that she’s telling the youths that they’re being too sensitive or that they should, what? Fake-laugh at some of the stupider or offensive jokes in the series? The kids have a right to to be offended, just as Aniston has the right to tell them to settle down. God, is Aniston going to start complaining about cancel culture now?
Photos courtesy of Cover Images, Backgrid.
-
- Paris, FRANCE – Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, and more attend the “Murder Mystery 2” photocall at Pont Debilly in Paris, France. Pictured: Jennifer Aniston BACKGRID USA 16 MARCH 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Paris, FRANCE – Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler, and more attend the “Murder Mystery 2” photocall at Pont Debilly in Paris, France. Pictured: Jennifer Aniston BACKGRID USA 16 MARCH 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
-
- Los Angeles premiere of Netflix’s ‘Murder Mystery 2’ at Regency Village Theatre. Featuring: Jennifer Aniston Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 28 Mar 2023 Credit: Faye’s Vision/Cover Images
-
- Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix’s ‘Murder Mystery 2’ held at the Regency Village Theatre Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United States. Featuring: Jennifer Aniston Where: Westwood, California, United States When: 28 Mar 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix’s ‘Murder Mystery 2’ held at the Regency Village Theatre Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United States. Featuring: Jennifer Aniston Where: Westwood, California, United States When: 28 Mar 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
-
- Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix’s ‘Murder Mystery 2’ held at the Regency Village Theatre Westwood, Los Angeles, California, United States. Featuring: Jennifer Aniston Where: Westwood, California, United States When: 28 Mar 2023 Credit: Abaca Press/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
I was someone who loved Friends when it aired and when I see clips from the show now I think……yikes, that does not hold up. Basically I either still laugh at a joke, or I think a joke has not aged well but is still kind of funny, or I think “yikes I can’t believe they thought that was appropriate even in 1998.” I think she might be talking about the jokes in the middle?
No one is canceling Friends though so 🤷♀️
I think one of the things about comedy is that its okay to make fun of yourself, but not other people. Or if you are making fun of people outside of your bubble you have to do it in a more careful and thoughtful way, which I don’t think is a bad thing. The days of just being as offensive as possible to be funny are over (in many respects, not entirely) and I don’t think that’s bad.
Well, I was around when it first came out. I loved the show, but looking back I could see how SOME of it is offensive. But that was like 5% of the time, usually the gay jokes.
But I will agree that it was hella white for a show based in New York City.
I think it’s more a case of she is always asked about Friends 🤷🏻♀️
The gay jokes are REALLY offputting now in 2023. I actually think the portrayal of Carol and Susan was good, and I like how they gave Ross room to grow in terms of his acceptance of that relationship. but there are so many other gay jokes outside of that and its…..not good.
As bisexual woman I also dont have too much of an issue with the Carol and Susan storyline as most of those jokes weren’t at their expense; it was usually mocking Ross for not realizing his wife was a lesbian and for being married three times. You could maybe argue that Susan was sort of stereotyped as a man hating lesbian but she was always shown to be so loving towards Carol and Ben and to me she didnt come off as a man hater; she just hated Ross which is incredibly valid because he was terrible.
That said: the constant jokes about Chandler being too feminine and Monica being masculine got really tiring after a while. The big problem with Friends is that they ran some bits too long to the point it felt really cheap(see also the jokes about Monica’s weight or Chandler’s dad which got old VERY quickly).
My super abusive long long long ago ex used Ross as a reason his own behavior was not wrong or abusive. So it’s been interesting watching people realize Ross is hella problematic and controlling and awful
Oh my god when I rewatched it last year I couldn’t get over how verbally and emotionally abusive Ross was to Rachel!! It’s crazy how things have changed and women are finally seeing that behavior for what it is and calling it out. It’s not “boys being boys” it’s abuse.
I still like friends. Never cared or thought about it being mostly white. Most of my t.v shows were black. 90s had so many black TV shows. I didnt have any white friends in the 90s really. It was funny seeing the small and sometimes big difference watching t.v. when I was little I thought all white schools were like saved by the bell (grew up chicago west side ghetto 80s) I dont know. I guess I see the pros and cons for myself. I might also be rambling here lol
I didn’t watch Friends when it originally aired but saw a few episodes in reruns. Back in the 90s l watched a similar ensemble show called Living Single with Kim Fields (from Facts of Life) and Queen Latifah, etc which debuted a year earlier than Friends. I would also watch Seinfeld on a regular basis when it first aired. I think it is better to have diversity in casts for the social good because it can be seen as the norm for diverse groups to relate to each other as human beings. But the thing is my fiance (now my husband) who is white did perhaps watch Living Single with me when he otherwise would not have .
@Just Me I never could get into Friends. Living Single was a much better show.
@equality 100% agree. Living Single is under appreciated. It deserves renewed attention just like Friends.
“We can’t take ourselves too seriously!” when what she means is “the people we made fun of can’t take themselves too seriously” is a tad grating.
There are some funny moments in Friends, but none of them are the jokes that are being examined now honestly. She should be grateful Gen Z likes it as much as they do tbh.
Honestly, why is Jen taking this so seriously? In this case, Jen is the one taking the criticism too seriously. Some of the jokes are offensive. Admit it and move on. The “advice” she’s giving others is one she should be giving to herself. Not sure she’s at that level of self-reflection with this topic though.
I don’t understand why she’s constantly talking about Friends. Almost every article I read about her is about her talking about Friends. Is it just me? I’m a bit tired of hearing it.
Because shes asked about it constantly?
How dare you make a logical comment!
Yeah because there is nothing else for her to talk about, she is boring & superficial
Because at this point, that’s the biggest thing she’s been in. Much like SJP with Sex and the City. None of her other projects get the same attention for her.
Because it is the most interesting thing about her & Friends is not really not that interesting in the first place. She never talks about anything besides her body, her hair,Friends…just dull
Yeah some movies or TV shows would never be made these days because it would be incredibly offensive. But, it’s easy for a rich, straight, skinny white lady to say, “Eh, it was funny then, what’s the harm?” Nobody is free from being made fun of or parodied, but fat jokes, racial jokes and jokes about sexuality don’t target her.
I don’t really have an issue with what she said, except for the “sensitivity” part. That was a record scratch for me.
“Awareness”, Jennifer, the word you were looking for is awareness.
I agree – she’s leaning into the anti-woke rhetoric.
But I also take issue with the fact that she thinks that people are offended that the show made fun of bigots and we’re “not allowed” to do that anymore. Making fun of bigots is fair game and always has been. What wasn’t funny is *being* bigoted for the sake of a joke, and that’s what people are offended by. I think she is very purposefully misconsturing that.
I’m really flippin’ sick of her “good old days” crap that she’s been spewing for awhile now. It seems like she feels left behind – easy to do when you are the exact same person — hairstyle and vacations and all — that you were 30 years ago. Woman could stand to grow a little and educate herself.
Exactly. She’s assuming no one was offended when it aired. There were plenty of us that cringed at certain things – we just didn’t feel comfortable speaking up.
My kids were in elementary school in the “Friends” era. I watched sometimes. It was always braindead fun with touches of stupid, such as those apartments.
It wasn’t high art. It was never going to age well and it didn’t.
Would she prefer if people stopped watching Friends? I don’t know everytime she talks now I get a Republican vibe from her.
I don’t know about that – she openly endorsed Biden and asked her fans to vote for him. I just think Democrats can be tone-deaf, too.
Exactly – Republicans don’t have a lock on tone deaf.
Oh, trust me, Jen, lots of the things people are objecting to in 2023 were just as objectionable in the 90’s or the early 00’s. The difference is that now people who are hurt by those jokes are allowed to say out loud that we’re hurt by them. When I think back on all the Fat Monica jokes made at my expense in that time period, and I had to just sit there and take it because saying “hey, friend, that’s really uncool and hurtful” meant I was being a castrating bitch… whew. The fatphobic, homophobic, transphobic jokes hurt people back then, but speaking up made us more of a target. We’re still targets to assholes who don’t like having to acknowledge that they’re assholes, but our voices are louder now.
I wish she’d stop speaking, it gets harder to pretend that she’s a decent person every time she opens her mouth like this.
Right on, Wendy. They leaned in hard to fat-phobia among other things. To me she epitomizes someone who doesn’t set out to be hurtful but remaining blissfully ignorant and unevolved because it’s easier on her inflicts pain, too.
You are speaking facts Wendy. The part about how she needs to stop speaking is so true. I had a similar thought “and just yesterday I was starting to think nice things about you.” It made my day to read you’re keeping your voice loud. 💪🏼💜
There’s one Monica fat “joke” that always stands out to me. She thinks someone sat on her Kit Kat bar and freaks out. It’s just so pointless, stupid and offensive. I can’t with that show.
Ugh. I watched one episode in the 90s at a friend’s college apartment cause watch parties were a thing back then. I never saw the allure. My campus was full of these basic bishes IRL. I certainly didn’t want to spend my free time watching them.
She’s right people are more sensitive to Friends and they’re right to be. But shit is still the someone the same. Shows are still quite white and and run by white folks. It’s gotten better but we’ve got miles to go.
I loved friends when it first aired but not only have a lot of the jokes aged horribly, but as I rewatch it I’ve realized it’s not even that funny. Cheers is funnier and probably has less stuff that has aged poorly. But I think her framing of how poorly Friends has aged is defensive and very tone deaf. David Schwimmer has handled the criticism much better. Also, as for jokes generally, I believe comedians should punch up. When they punch down (like Chappelle), that’s when I lose all respect for them.
I still quote Norm’s ‘it’s a dog eat dog world and I’m wearing milk bone underwear’.
Friends, like Sex in the City, was never going to age well – when I watch it now I cringe as just how immature and thoughtless the characters and the plots were.
It captured the life of privileged, white 20-something’s raised in suburbia but living in the city in the 1990s. That’s what I was when it was airing and my whole social set watched it because we saw ourselves in it.
But I don’t remember it especially fondly and it’s not something I’d be interested in watching again on streaming. All the sarcasm and pauses in the delivery of every punchline feels dated and unfunny to me.
I loved Friends when it aired like I said above, and I went through a heavy rewatching period in my early 20s (Friends finale was the night of my last college exam as a senior, so the years after that were when I was living in a city, working, going to school etc so it resonated with me still at that point.) But I know some people who are my age (41) or thereabouts and they rewatch friends all.the.time. All the time!!! I don’t get it.
I will say that I don’t think Big Bang Theory aged well at all either, and that’s much more recent in time than Friends.
I hated Friends for the delivery thing. I watched a few episodes and after every line of dialogue there were shrieks of laughter from the audience, no matter how banal.
“But I just got back from work.” (Laughter)
“Well we can go get dinner now.” (Laughter)
That’s not from an actual episode, just to illustrate how ridiculous it was. I don’t even know how anyone could watch it.
What else can we expect from someone whose current career depends on Adam Sandler keeping casting her
She is on the critically acclaimed and popular Morning Show. She is so rich she never has to work again, or she could start her own production company. She doesn’t need Adam for her career.
Ngl, I hated the show. She’s not too off the mark though like most of the comments mention here – just about the “sensitive” nonsense. I get that she’s still getting royalties for infinity reruns so she’s protecting her coins, but just own it, agree, and move on.
I have watched Friends and while sometimes it was funny she’s delusional if she thinks it wasn’t offensive then. However as much as I don’t like her it wasn’t her fault, it was the writers
Not a youth, and tbh I wasn’t a fan during its original run and it hasn’t become something I have on in the background even now. And it must be annoying for Aniston to constantly be asked about a show she was on 20 years ago, even if it’s the show that “made” her.
This is what happens as society moves forward, art from previous generations can be viewed in a different light because pop culture caters to the audiences of the day. Sitcoms often have jokes that appeal to the lowest common denominator to garner cheap laughs. Even if that show has many wonderful qualities that are universal, those jokes will not age well.
I post on the subreddits for Frasier and MASH, two of my all-time favorite shows. Believe it or not, both subs have a lot of Gen Z fans. Gen Z lauds both for their outstanding qualities but isn’t afraid to call out the aspects that are extremely cringey by today’s standards.
Nothing’s being “cancelled”. Just an acknowledgement that times are different and certain things have aged like milk and/or are offensive today but also should have been considered offensive back then as well.
On Disney Plus, a lot of the older films have disclaimers letting the audience know the film may contain stereotypes or viewpoints that are wrong now and were wrong then but weren’t considered incorrect at the time of its creation because that’s how society was back then.
Simple as that.
I was not allowed to watch it when it aired. I’m 39 this year. As an early 20s I caught an episode or two here and there and I knew all the important storylines etc. but I didn’t watch the series until 2014. I was immediately put off by the rampant homophobia and misogyny. I hated Ross. For its time it was groundbreaking and I appreciate that. But I struggled to enjoy it with the experience and hindsight I had gained in the years since its popularity.
I don’t understand the re-litigating of 30 year old jokes. I loved Friends back then and I still love it. I can see where it doesn’t hold up and where opportunities were missed, where it was partly very unrealistic. But it was not a bad show. Some of it was actually really great. There was true character development (for some, just like in real life others never evolved), people grew up, there was career sh*t, and parent issues. Accidental pregnancy. It was all covered in silly so I think people don’t remember some of that. The homophobic “jokes” weren’t great but do we not remember the 90s? There was a lot of stuff that is unacceptable today. I personally think back on some of it and wish I hadn’t said or done certain things.
There are always people who never got into those iconic shows, I personally still don’t understand why people like Game of Thrones. That doesn’t make it a bad show. And they certainly can’t go back and change it.
I watched Friends during it’s original run and it was one of my favorite shows at the time. However, it has not aged well at all much like Sex & the City. I agree with Kaiser’s comment that she could have just said that Friends was just a product of it’s time and that yeah, it’s nice that a younger generation has found it and is entertained by it but also is able to criticize it. Both things are okay. The fact that she wants to (what sounds like) complain that comedians can’t do certain things anymore and people are more sensitive now is just so tone deaf. Comedians as a whole have really surprised me the last several years with how the second one of them gets called out for bad behavior or crappy jokes or whatever, they all immediately circle the wagons and close ranks around that person. Doesn’t matter how bad that person is, they want to protect their own instead of taking a step back and being like yeah, that joke sucked. Or yeah maybe that person shouldn’t be such an a-hole or a creep or a bigot, etc. They refuse to evolve and when they complain that it sucks that they have to watch their mouth or they can’t do that anymore, all it says to me is that maybe they’re just not that great at comedy after all. If your jokes can’t evolve and grow with the times, and you feel like you have to punch down on already marginalized people to be funny, maybe you just suck at your job? If you can’t acknowledge that maybe certain jokes didn’t age well, then maybe you too are just another thing of the past. A stale ass relic. Like the stale ass jokes you don’t want to let go of.
So many people quick to defend this shit bc she got cheated on. She’s still ignorant as fuck. This show literally acted like Black people didn’t exist. But It’s JA so we can’t call this show racist.
It’s a poor ripoff of Living Single anyway, which is one reason why I didn’t watch it. LS had better dynamic amongst it’s “friends” and was a much more positive show overall.
They ripped off LS ripped of LS episode by episode. So crazy.
@Dani Ditto! Living Single was groundbreaking in many ways.
Back in the 90s when they both were airing, I remember saying I liked LS over Friends and getting blasted for it. I loved Living Single and miss that I can’t see it anymore now that I don’t have cable or the streaming services its aired.
Ngl, I absolutely watched Living Single when I was a tween and my mom never knew. Probably bc by that time it was already into reruns after I got home from school so she wasn’t there to pay attention, whereas at that time Friends was prime time. Such a funny series!!! I always forget Friends was based on it. I haven’t revisited it as an adult.
Very awesome that Marta Kauffman — one of the co-creators of Friends — really heard some of the criticisms about the show’s lack of diversity, did some reflecting, and decided to make a substantial donation to support her Alma Mater’s African and African American Studies department.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2022-06-29/friends-diversity-marta-kauffman-brandeis-university
I just have 3 points:
1.Very few television sitcoms age well. Even the critically acclaimed ones. That’s just how the world is.
2. I don’t think anyone is buying the “making fun of bigots” rationale. That’s NOT the problem.
3. Social media has given voice to literally everyone, so we are simply more aware of opinions
My 15 year old loves the show and said it seems so cool that people just hung out without phones or social media, I hope we see a trend back to that. I do see how a lot of the content is offensive these days but when you consider how long ago it was and far we’ve come I think it’s ok. We know better now, we’re still learning and changing so I’m not going to accuse the writers of being racist today.
It’s a dumb sitcom, of course it isn’t gonna hold up and be regarded as an amazing piece of American history! Why is this show constantly brought up! Also judging a 25 year old show by today’s standards is ridiculous. In 25 years will our popular shows hold up? Some may and many won’t. Do people feel superior if they point out how problematic a 25 year old mindless show is today? Why is this such a big thing now. Everyone needs to grow up.
I’ve clicked past reruns of friends over the years, unless it is one I remember as particularly funny. For me it doesn’t have the same rewatchness as a Golden Girls or Seinfeld. But I do think, like someone mentioned above, it captured a moment in time before social media took off. Friends ended just after MySpace and Facebook launched. I can see Gen Z being interested because it showed attractive, well dressed young adults living fun and interesting non-digital (gasp), social lives in unrealistically sized and affordable NYC apartments. Friends was of the decade it aired and it’s great in the time capsule it lives in. For millennials and Gen Xers the show holds alot of nostalgia, so it will probably always have it’s core fan base. So, I agree with whoever said Jennifer Anniston is responding to questions she doesn’t need to because in answering she is coming off a bit out of touch. Just say the culture has changed so comedy has changed as it has always had to when shifts have happened. End of story. Because at this point, try as they might, no one can take away that Friends was an unusual phenomenon that was rock star like. And it made the network and stars LOTS of money. Similar shows that had successful runs like How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory, never matched the frenzy of Friends. Be proud of that and keep it moving.
Hate to break it to you, Jen, but when I was a teen in the 90s, when the show originally aired I was offended– by the ft jokes, the homophobia, transphobia, the fact that the barely ever featured people of color. Calling out these things isn’t “new,” but being able to do so on public paltforms like twitter is.
Well, yeah, there was “a sensitivity then…” it’s just that Aniston —and the writers and producers of the show didn’t share it, and possibly still don’t. When Friends first aired, I was single, and living in NYC. For a time, I even lived in an apartment building that one of the main characters in the show purportedly lived in. Like Sex and the City — and the columns that it was based on, someone would have had to work really really hard to portray the vibrantly diverse NYC — particularly neighborhoods like the Village and Chelsea — as unabashedly whitewashed as those shows did.
The “joke’s” on people like me though. Thanks in part to shows like those and the attitudes and values that they seem to embody — and attract — the once proudly heterogeneous neighborhoods where I, too, sipped and shopped, now look and even feel a lot more like the sets from Friends and Sex in the City. If, as Aniston said, “Everyone is far too divided”, shows like these have deliberately provided influences that have helped to stoke and even promote the divisions that she supposedly derides.
Great post.
Totally not relevant, but her spray tan in these pictures are horrible.
I could never get into it. I can’t stand studio sitcoms in general, that fake lighting and people running in and out waving their arms, overacting as if the audience is a group of toddlers.
People aren’t more sensitive now. People are better informed and less afraid to speak up.
And also they were definitely on a break. Lol.
Dare I say, Jen and her “People are too sensitive these days, and what happened to all the movie stars, anyway? I wish we could go back to how great things used to be (for white people)!” spiel, indicates that she has a sensitivity chip missing. IYKYK.
I really don’t understand this crap coming from white women. Sure attractive white women have always had options under the umbrella of protection provided by men but even Jen herself was once under huge social pressure to be married, her relationship status being more important than her personal accomplishments. And it never seemed to work out too well for her. How could she possibly romanticize that era?
@meh, I agree, I think this “people are too sensitive nowadays , you can’t even joke anymore “, is very on brand for Jen
I’ve always felt she has always been the pick me girl
Friends, and her marriage to Brad is what she’s known for, and she has worked with those things, she’s come out for Brad when he was exposed as being a douche to Angelina and the kids and played the “will they won’tThey get back together at awards ceremonies card “ for attention etc because she knows that it benefits her ( even though Brad was a completel douche to her as well.. because the misogynistic golden girl relationship versus the bad girl Angelina narrative was really all that kept her interesting for years , so her leaning into the anti- woke narrative is not at all surprising to me
I wish I had a stake in this conversation, but I couldn’t stand Friends in the 90s. I don’t think I’ve ever watched an entire episode. But why is it so hard to lay it out like K said…that was then, this is now. Some is good, some hasn’t aged well. But I’m so thankful to be having this conversation with younger viewers because you guys are our future! Easy peasy.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: the fact that these self-involved, vapid white folks only hung out with other self-involved, vapid white folks is actually HIGHLY realistic. Some folks think that just because white people live in a diverse city that they’ll have a diverse group of friends. But LOTS of white urbanites are insular AF–a depressingly large amount actually. Also, what POC would want to hang out with these grating people? Not making excuses for the lack of diversity but this isn’t “unrealistic”…JS…
That’s what I thought too, but then someone explained to me, it’s not just that all the characters were white and had white friends, it was that all the extras, different love interests, people at the coffee shop, people at the airport, they were ALL white. Later on they got more diverse extras I guess, and one or two Black love interests.
Ah ok now THAT makes sense! I was never really into the show and have no desire to watch it now but I can absolutely believe that the producers and casting team made ZERO effort to honor the diversity of NYC. Lame as hell.
It is highly realistic, even today. I have seen quite a few articles talk about how people self segregate even in big cities.
Well….some stuff in there does age poorly. All the gay panic jokes about Chandler, specifically.
I’m surprised she/ herPR person didn’t have a better response, but then again I guess I shouldn’t be. To call people who realize this Jokes and the lack of diversity is not a ok sensitive, says more about her.
Lisa Kudrow response was perfect and Jen should have taken notes.
And I agree, Living, Single, aged very well.
The “sensitive” comment coming from the woman who literally complained that her ex (Brad Pitt) was “missing a sensitivity chip” is a little ironic, right?
Yeah but I think we can all admit that she was absolutely right about Pitt, whether we like the woman or not.
Never saw it and don’t think I missed much. I find Jennifer so uninteresting. Love Cynthia Nixon in the stuff I’ve seen her in.
“And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were. And now we’re not allowed to do that”
That statement really bugs me. No, the show was NOT about educating people about anything, and they weren’t trying to say racism and fat-shaming is ridiculous, they FOUND IT funny. That’s not the same thing. And no, we ARE currently allowed to educate people on how ridiculous racism and bigotry is — but that’s not what the show was doing. Everything she said is wrong. I cannot stand the way she tries to rewrite history and excuse the show. Just apologize and move on, instead of getting defensive and attacking “woke” people (I know she didn’t use that word, but that’s what she meant by “now we’re not allowed to do that”). Cannot. Stand. Her.
Yeah, I personally love friends but it wasn’t exactly All in the Family tackling social issues and beliefs.
on a JA note, i think she would look so lovely with silver hair. i hope that she will let hers turn gradually.
I watched it at the time and I was offended by the fat-phobic jokes. I really thought that it sucked and was a reason why never liked Friends.
I get and understand that these shows were of a certain time and public attitudes change and i watch Friends re-runs on tv as an easy no brain watch but her argument here that you can no longer use a bigot as a comedy vehicle and teaching experience is 1) not true because many shows still do this and 2) not most people’s gripes with Friends. A lot of recent comedy hit shows have characters who are bigoted/habitual breakers of HR practices like The Good Place(Eleanor, John and Brent from s4 and literally everyone who worked for the Bad Place), Abbott Elementary(Ava), Reboot(Gordon), etc
But the most problematic thing about Friends was probably the relationships: whether it was Monica dating her dad’s best friend who’d known her since she was a child, Rachel dating her assistant that she only hired because she thought he was hot, 30 year old Ross dating his college student, or Ross just being controlling and terrible to pretty much every woman he was with those are the parts of this show that REALLY dont age well.
Friends made me cringe then and I find it unwatchable now. I found all the lead characters deeply unattractive. They were self absorbed, thoughtless and monumentally irritating. The endless labouring of jokes was just so lazy considering the shows were often written by a huge committee of writers. I especially found the fat Monica jokes tiring. It showed how one dimensional the characters were who couldn’t see personality past the pudge. As a big chunky girl with a gorgeous boyfriend I knew this was b*ll*cks, but it got laughs.
I don’t think Living Single was shown in the UK so I never saw that. I would say, from a similar time though, that while I don’t think Buffy the Vampire Slayer got everything right (it’s very white and some of the themes have aged somewhat), but I do think the Amber/Willow relationship was handled well without the cringy jokes and behind the hand giggles Friends relied on. Also it had Spike.
I love the 90s (especially the music) but Friends isn’t the programme I want to re-see to take me back.
If you can find Living Single in the UK you should definitely watch great show and take on friendship also it aged very well.
I’m proud to say I’ve never watched even one episode of Friends. Saw snippets and just wasn’t interested. Seemed so fake.
The people who made Friends are obsessed with this. You know who’s not? The youths. The youths do not care. Because Friends was pointless. It had some fun episodes, some good lines and funny situations, but it never meant a thing. The people who made Friends wish young people thought about them with more than a shrug. And by the way, plenty of those of us who were young when it ran had identical complaints — it was so white, sexist, classist, fatphobic. The creators only started to pretend to care long after it was over, now that it gets them attention they no longer have naturally.
A lot of shows with stuff that was much more offensive still get a lot more love, including from young people who see and talk about the problems the shows had. MASH, for instance. Shows that had a point. But Friends? No one cares. And the former creators and cast are desperate about that.
Soooo we can joke about her face? Lol
I was 10 years old when it was airing on tv, and I didn’t find it funny or interesting. I saw some of the re-runs later on in my early 20s and still couldn’t figure out what was funny there. It was still boring. Now in my 30s when someone shows me a clip from the show I still don’t find anything remotely funny.
Not my sense of humor I guess.
I found respect for Seinfeld though, especially as I got older. Much better and more intelligent type of humor.
I watched Friend but Living Single was a much better show. It was smartly written. The characters were great and they had great character arcs that showed their growth through the series.
The characters on Friends did not show any growth.
Plus Living Single had a much better cast.
I can’t believe I am even writing this. I love Aniston and Sandler together, and I had a ball watching the latest installment. It’s possible I could love the Spitz duo as much as Powell and Loy in The Thin Man series. Thanks for the good laughs.