In a recent interview, Jennifer Aniston claimed that even “Friends” couldn’t avoid the Sauron-like scrutiny of contemporary audiences, who looked at it and found it “offensive.”
Aniston said, “There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of ‘Friends’ and find them offensive.” She talked about the popular 90s program and what kids think about it now.
She oddly joined the “offended” and woke mob, stating, “There were things that were never intentional and others… We should have given it more consideration, but I don’t believe there was the same level of sensitivity then as there is now. Movies have changed, and comedy has, too, according to Aniston. Now that you have to exercise extreme caution, it can be challenging for comedians because the appeal of humor is that we make fun of ourselves and everyday situations.
She nevertheless supported humor and argued that people should laugh more quickly and take themselves and jokes less seriously. It was hilarious. And it was about showing people how absurd they were, but we’re no longer permitted to do that. Everyone requires humor! Humor is needed in the universe! We shouldn’t be too concerned with ourselves, particularly in the US. Everyone is too polarised.
Actor John Cleese, who played Monty Python, concurs with her on this issue, declaring in 2022 that political correctness is the “death of comedy.” According to him, you can create something and then criticize it, but not both at once. So you won’t be very creative if you’re worried about offending people and continually thinking about that. Therefore, I believe it to be catastrophic. You’ll respond well if you make anti-Democratic jokes at a Republican convention. You won’t if you make anti-Republican remarks. Therefore, you must somewhat adapt your content to your audience. And a portion of it is that… You don’t start telling your grandmother sex stories when you visit her and have tea with her. That isn’t because it’s against the law; it’s just impolite.
Jennifer Aniston
Not just Jennifer Aniston has expressed regret over “Friends.” Marta Kauffman, the series’ co-creator, recently expressed regret over the show’s absence of “diversity.” Having white individuals as the main characters is now unacceptable.
Kauffman apologized for her hiring choices, saying, “I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years. Recognizing and accepting your remorse is difficult. Looking in the reflection at oneself hurts. I regretted not having known better 25 years ago.
It took me a long time to start to comprehend how I internalized systemic racism, she continued. I’ve been putting a lot of effort into becoming an anti-racist and a friend. And this seemed to be an opportunity for me to contribute as a white woman’s perspective to the discussion.
She also expressed regret over how Chandler’s “trans” father was “misgendered” by the show’s characters. She stated, “Even though Chandler’s father was transgender, we continued calling [Helena] ‘Chandler’s father. We didn’t refer to that figure as “she” because I didn’t understand pronouns at the time. That was a bad move.
