This one features Jennifer Aniston‘s memories of Friends.
Jennifer recently commented on the debate surrounding specific Friends sequences, pointing out that the definition of comedy has changed over time.
The 54-year-old claimed that due to the adjustment, many viewers now react to Friends episodes differently from when the TV show first ran from 1994 to 2004.
“There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find them offensive,” Jennifer told AFP. “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.”
Jennifer elaborated on the subject by stating that comedy has changed in a way that can be challenging for artists.
“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,” Jennifer 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.”
The Murder Mystery actress added, “Everybody needs funny! The world needs humor! We can’t take ourselves too seriously. Especially in the United States. Everyone is far too divided.”
Jennifer is not the first member of the Friends cast to consider decisions made for the program. In January, Kathleen Turner, who played Chandler Bing’s transgender parent Helena Handbasket in Friends, said she “probably” wouldn’t” take on that role in the present day.
“There was no question of casting a trans person or a drag queen…it was never considered,” Kathleen told The Guardian. “It never crossed my mind that I was taking a role from someone.”
Marta Kauffman, a Friends co-creator, apologized for how the series handled Helena, a character Kathleen played back in July.
“We kept referring to [Helena] as ‘Chandler’s father,’ even though Chandler’s father was trans,” Marta told BBC’s World Service’s The Conversation. “Pronouns were not yet something that I understood, so we didn’t refer to that character as ‘she.’ That was a mistake.”
Not all of Marta’s regrets have been related to Helena’s story. She has acknowledged this. The show’s creator replied to complaints that the series lacked diversity because it focused on six white pals in June.
“Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It’s painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know better 25 years ago,” Kauffman told The Los Angeles Times. “I want to make sure from now on in every production I do that I am conscious in hiring people of color and actively pursue young writers of color. I want to know I will act differently from now on. And then I will feel unburdened.”
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