Highlights
- Matt LeBlanc refuses to discuss problematic storylines on Friends, claiming the show focused on timeless themes like trust and love.
- Maggie Wheeler disagrees with criticism of Friends' lack of diversity, citing the difficulty of predicting the future during the show's run.
- David Schwimmer acknowledges the lack of diversity on Friends and actively pushed for more diverse storylines for his character, Ross.
Throughout its ten season run, Friends was bound to run into problematic storylines. Looking back, there seems to be some questionable outcomes. However, the cast isn't taking complete ownership for it.
In the following, we're going to take a closer look at what Matt LeBlanc had to say about problematic storylines, which included Matthew Perry's character Chandler upset that he was being perceived as gay. We'll reveal LeBlanc's comments, while also taking a closer look at what others cast members had to say about the issues, including guest star Maggie Wheeler, and David Schwimmer.
Matt LeBlanc Refused To Discuss Questionable Friends Storylines, Including Chandler's Paranoia Over Being Perceived As Gay
This tends to be the case with shows from the past. Given the climate back then, some jokes come across as questionable years later. That is especially the case for sitcoms to come out of the '90s, and even the early 2000s. Friends faced a lot of backlash after its success, which also included the sitcom's lack of diversity.
Looking back at some of the controversy, there are some questionable storylines that resurfaced. One of them included Chandler's paranoia about being perceived as gay. The storyline did not age well, and Matt LeBlanc was later asked about the controversy with BBC. LeBlanc didn't want to expand on the topic, and would reveal that he didn't neccesairly agree with what was being said.
LeBlanc reveals, "I’ve heard those rumours too about people taking pot shots at Friends, but I don’t want to get into that. I disagree with all that. On Friends we steered clear of that kind of thing, too. Friends was about themes that stand the test of time – trust, love, relationships, betrayal, family and things like that."
He continued, "I’m not in the business of making political jokes, politically incorrect jokes."
LeBlanc clearly didn't want to expand on the topic, not wanting to add to the controversy. LeBlanc wasn't alone with the way he felt, and a certain guest star seemed to agree.
Maggie Wheeler Also Revealed That The Criticism Friends Gets Years Later Is Harsh
Maggie Wheeler also disagreed with the criticism relating to Friends' lack of diversity and questionable storylines. Wheeler mentioned that at the time, it was impossible to predict the future and what things would be like.
"They say hindsight is 20/20. You can’t create a show with the consciousness of the future. The future hasn’t happened yet."
"It’s true that whenever you look back at a sitcom or at any television of that moment. You might see things that you might cringe at, or you might think “That is just so politically incorrect” or “Where is all the diversity?”
Wheeler would go on to reveal that at the very least, big changes have been made today.
"So I’m not sure if it could have been done a different way then, but clearly we know a lot more now, or the discussions are a lot more open now about inclusion, about diversity, about the spectrum of sexuality, about all of humanity. There’s so much more of an open conversation about those things now."
There was a certain star on Friends that did acknowledge the lack of diversity on the sitcom. However, this star in particular did something about it during the show's successful run at the top.
David Schwimmer Did Acknowledge The Lack Of Diversity On Friends And Made A Push To Fix It
David Schwimer says he made a conscious push for diversity on Friends. Unlike some of the other stars that refused to address the matter, Schwimmer instead explained his approach.
He tells People, "I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color. One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian American woman, and later I dated African American women. That was a very conscious push on my part.”
Schwimmer would go on to defend the show, making mention that they were always trying to do what was best.
“The truth is also that show was groundbreaking in its time for the way in which it handled so casually sex, protected sex, gay marriage and relationships,” he said. “The pilot of the show was my character’s wife left him for a woman and there was a gay wedding, of my ex and her wife, that I attended.”
“I feel that a lot of the problem today in so many areas is that so little is taken in context,” he continued. “You have to look at it from the point of view of what the show was trying to do at the time. I’m the first person to say that maybe something was inappropriate or insensitive, but I feel like my barometer was pretty good at that time. I was already really attuned to social issues and issues of equality.”
Despite the certain controversies, Friends continues to thrive with its reruns all these years later.
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