Aisha Tyler has shared her thoughts on the show’s lack of diversity, reflecting on her own experience as one of the few Black cast members on Friends.
She played Charlie Wheeler, a paleontology professor who dated Ross Geller (David Schwimmer).
Before her romance with Ross, Charlie was involved with his friend Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), which created some tension between the two friends.
She explained, “It wasn’t like it was just something that people looked back at later and said, ‘Wait a minute.’
In her interview with The Independent, she added, “But we didn’t have social media back then, so it wasn’t the large-scale conversation that it became later.”
Adam Goldberg, also 53, reflected on his short run on Friends, where he played Eddie, Joey’s creepy roommate, for three episodes in season two.
She talked about the friendships she formed while on the show, particularly her bond with the late Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing.
Perry tragically passed away last year from a drug overdose.
Jennifer Aniston, 55, who played Rachel Green, acknowledged the issue in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, admitting that the show should have considered these things more thoughtfully.
She said: “There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find them offensive. We should have thought it through, but I don’t think there was a sensitivity like there is now.”
While she acknowledges that progress has been made, she still encourages more women, people of color, and other marginalized groups to “get behind the camera and tell their stories.”
It’s been more than two decades since Aniston’s real-life romance with her Friends guest star ended, but some fans are only now finding out about it.
During her time on the show, Aniston worked alongside actor Tate Donovan, now 60, whom she had dated for two years prior.
Aniston and Donovan had actually dated in real life for two years after meeting in 1995, but by the time he took on the role, their relationship was coming to an end.
Tate clarified, “In fact, we had dated for two years before then, and it was over by the time we were on Friends together.”
