Jennifer Aniston Reacts to New ‘Generation’ of Viewers Who Find ‘Friends’ an ‘Offensive’ Show
Canceled? Jennifer Aniston reacted to a whole new “generation” of Friends viewers who find the sitcom’s jokes “offensive” in terms of today’s standards.
“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,” the Horrible Bosses actress, 54, shared during an interview with AFP in Paris on Monday, March 27, noting how “comedy has evolved” over the years.
Friends aired from 1994 to 2004 and has been widely criticized in the recent years for the show’s content and lack of diversity among the main cast, which includes Jennifer — who played Rachel Green on the series — alongside Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.
“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,” the We’re the Millers actress continued, adding that previously, “you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical.”
Jennifer continued, “It was about educating people on how ridiculous people were. And now, we’re not allowed to do that.”
That being said, the actress expressed that “everybody needs funny” and “the world needs humor,” now more than ever.
Friends might have come to an end in 2004, but the show’s stars have stayed in touch throughout the years, often sharing their best memories from the set.
“Honestly, they made me laugh so hard every day,” Lisa, 59, recalled on Today in July 2022. The actress, who played Phoebe Buffay on the show, has also addressed backlash from the sitcom as the younger generation continues to discover the show.
“I feel like it was a show created by two people who went to Brandeis [University] and wrote about their lives after college,” the Comeback star said of Friends creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane while speaking with The Daily Beast in August 2022. “And for shows especially, when it’s going to be a comedy that’s character-driven, you write what you know. They have no business writing stories about the experiences of being a person of color.”
That being said, Lisa’s experience with her Friends costars is one that she’ll never forget.
“The thing I think we should get the most credit for is the relationship we created amongst the six of us. It was really respectful,” she gushed in the same interview. “If somebody said something and you didn’t feel great about it, then you gave them the benefit of the doubt — always. It was a fantastic relationship that we all got to experience.”
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