Lisa Kudrow Gives Her Take on Friends ' Lack of Diversity, Singles Out How Creators Could Have Improved

Glenn Garner
·2 min read
lisa Kudrow
lisa Kudrow

Kurt Krieger/Corbis via Getty

Lisa Kudrow is reflecting on Friends' shortcomings.

The Emmy winner, 59, commented on the hit NBC sitcom's lack of diversity and inclusion as she spoke to The Daily Beast about what it would take to revive the show, which ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.

"I think if there would ever be anything like that, if [creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane] ever signed off on anything like that, it would have to be a different cast at that age," she said. "I think it would need to be more current — and more diverse representation is not a bad idea, you know?"

Kudrow also offered an explanation for why none of the show's six main characters — played by herself, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc — were people of color.

friends
friends

Reisig & Taylor/Getty Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing (front l-r) Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green

"Well, I feel like it was a show created by two people who went to Brandeis and wrote about their lives after college," she explained. "And for shows especially, when it's going to be a comedy that's character-driven, you write what you know."

Kudrow added, "They have no business writing stories about the experiences of being a person of color. I think at that time, the big problem that I was seeing was, 'Where's the apprenticeship?'"

RELATED VIDEO: Jennifer Aniston Was Not a Fan of Her Iconic 'The Rachel' Haircut from Friends — but she Still Goes to the Same Hairstylist

RELATED: Friends Co-Creator Says She's Now 'Embarrassed' by Lack of Diversity in Hit Show

Kauffman, 65, has previously expressed her regrets over the show's lack of diversity, explaining at the 2020 ATX TV festival that she "would've made very different decisions" if she made the show today. Last year, she said the all-white casting decision "was certainly not conscious."

Most recently, she pledged $4 million to the African and African American Studies department of Brandeis University in June to rectify the show's lack of inclusivity.

"I've learned a lot in the last 20 years," Kauffman told the Los Angeles Times. "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."

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • USC gives Lindsay Gottlieb a contract extension following deepest NCAA Tournament run in 30 years

    Southern California coach Lindsay Gottlieb has signed a contract extension through the 2029-30 season after the Trojans reached the NCAA Elite Eight in her third season and made their deepest tournament run in 30 years, athletic director Jen Cohen announced Friday. With star JuJu Watkins leading the way, the Trojans went 29-6, were ranked as high as No. 3 and earned their first No. 1 NCAA seed since 1986. “We couldn’t be more excited to extend Lindsay and keep her as a part of the Trojan Family for years to come,” Cohen said.

  • Williams-Sonoma must pay almost $3.2 million for violating FTC's 'Made in USA' order

    Home products retailer Williams-Sonoma will have to pay almost $3.2 million for violating a Federal Trade Commission “Made in USA” order. Williams-Sonoma was charged with advertising multiple products as being “Made in USA” when they were in fact manufactured in other countries, including China. The FTC said Friday that Williams-Sonoma has agreed to a settlement, which includes a $3.175 million civil penalty.

  • Planning for potential presidential transition underway as Biden administration kicks it off

    President Joe Biden's administration on Friday formally began planning for a potential presidential transition, aiming to ensure continuity of government no matter the outcome of November's general election. Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, sent memos to all executive departments and agencies, directing them to name a point person for transition planning by May 3. Next week, White House chief of staff Jeff Zients — who also chaired Biden's 2020 transition effort — will lead the first meeting of the White House Transition Coordinating Council, which consists of senior White House policy, national security and management officials, as required by the Presidential Transition Act.

  • Here are 14 players to watch next season across the Southeastern Conference

    The Southeastern Conference has reloaded from the high school ranks and the transfer portal. ALABAMA: A young running back like Jam Miller, Richard Young or Justice Haynes will have to step up for the Tide. Alabama lost its two leading rushers, Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams, to the NFL and the transfer portal, respectively.

  • BBC could get more funding to project ‘UK’s values across the world’

    An inquiry has been launched to decide whether the BBC should receive more government funding to help project “UK’s values across the world”.

  • Saia stock sinks on Q1 earnings miss

    Shares of Saia (SAIA) plunged on Friday after reporting first quarter earnings that missed on both the top and bottom lines. The less-than-truckload services company's CEO Fritz Holzgrefe said in the release, "March trends improved a bit from February, but we did not experience the expected seasonal step-up." Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman and Jared Blikre explain why the stock is selling off so sharply. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Stephanie Mikulich.

  • Sharon Stone on humanitarianism: You don’t save lives winning a Golden Globe

    The actress became a Nobel Laureate in 2013, after receiving the Peace Summit Award.

  • Exxon, Chevron Earnings Fall As Supermajors Spar Over South America's Oil Jewel

    Exxon Mobil and Chevron reported first-quarter earnings and revenue declines early Friday as lower refining margins and natural gas prices took a toll on the energy giants. Meanwhile, the two U.S. supermajors continue to squabble over Chevron's attempt to move into oil-rich Guyana. XOM stock fell Friday while Chevron stock shook off early losses and advanced.

  • Rachel Reeves refuses to apologise to Rosie Duffield over gender views

    Rachel Reeves has refused to apologise to Rosie Duffield for how she has been treated by the Labour Party over her views on gender.

  • Social Media Reacts To Donald Trump's Courthouse Birthday Greeting To His Wife

    "It would be nice to be with her, but I’m at a courthouse for a rigged trial," the former president said of Melania Trump.

  • Maya Rudolph Says Why Having Famous Parents Wasn't A 'Direct Line' To Her Career

    The "SNL" alum, who's the daughter of late singer Minnie Riperton and songwriter Richard Rudolph, discussed her upbringing in a recent interview.

  • Waitrose’s wonky billboard stunt fenced off by overzealous council

    An overzealous council overreacted to a Waitrose publicity stunt by erecting a safety barrier around a billboard constructed to look as though it was about to fall from the side of a building.

  • Stock market today: Stocks take PCE in stride, tech earnings boost Nasdaq up 2%

    Stellar earnings from the 'Magnificent Seven' duo have reignited optimism for a rally, but the PCE inflation print could put a spoke in the wheel.

  • Forget Nvidia And Google. Only One AI Stock Pulled This Off.

    Outshining AI giants Nvidia, Meta and Google, HubSpot has secured placement on three premier stock screens.

  • Michael Moran, former Sacramento interfaith minister, dies

    Moran was the co-founder of Spiritual Life Center in Arden-Arcade, an interfaith congregation that honored inclusivity.

  • Nikola Vucevic travels to support Magic at playoff game vs. Cavaliers

    Chicago Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic pulled up to support the Orlando Magic in their first home playoff game of 2024.

  • US STOCKS-Wall Street shares close up as megacap tech stocks rally

    U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday, buoyed by a rally in megacap growth stocks following robust quarterly results from technology heavyweights Alphabet and Microsoft in addition to moderate inflation data. Investors cheered Alphabet's first-ever dividend, its $70 billion stock buyback program, and better-than-expected first-quarter results. Microsoft shares rose after its third-quarter revenue and profit exceeded Wall Street estimates, driven by gains from artificial intelligence (AI) adoption across its cloud services.

  • Doctors ‘bribed to use infected blood products’

    Pharmaceutical giants have been accused of bribing doctors to use infected blood products that gave patients HIV and hepatitis C.

  • Corrections and clarifications

    UK car insurance premiums | Titanic dining scene | Birch trees image

  • Baltimore high school teacher arrested over deepfake racist audio of principal

    The Baltimore-area principal was placed on leave and received death threats over the hoax clip.