A Friends star has criticised the sitcom’s casting.
Aisha Tyler has opened up about her experiences as one of the only black cast members on the show, which she says “really lacked diversity”. The 53-year-old actress first appeared in season nine in 2003 and was the only black actress to have a recurring role.
She played paleontology professor Charlie Wheeler, the girlfriend of Ross Gellar (played by David Schwimmer). Before dating Ross, she had a fling with Ross’ pal Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) which caused tension between the friends.
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Tyler revealed the predominantly white cast was a topic of discussion at the time, not just something we talk about now. She said: “It wasn’t like it was just something that people looked back at later and said, “Wait a minute.”
(Image: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
“No, at the time, people talked quite a bit about the fact that, for a show that was set in the heart of Manhattan, it really lacked diversity. She added to the Independent: “But we didn’t have social media back then, so it wasn’t the large-scale conversation that it became later.”
Adam Goldberg, also 53, opened up about his short stint on Friends, where he played Joey’s creepy roommate Eddie for three episodes in season two. Tyler said she knew Schwimmer, who also co-directed the show, was trying to get more diversity in the show.
She also spoke about the friendships she made on the set, including the one she had with the late Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing and died last November from a drug overdose. Friends has faced criticism from those accusing the show of being non-inclusive, racist, and homophobic.
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Jennifer Aniston, 55, who played Rachel Green, admitted the show should have “thought it through” more, telling Entertainment Weekly: “There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find them offensive. We should have thought it through, but I don’t think there was a sensitivity like there is now.”
Tyler revealed that she has been rejected for a role because a black character had already been cast. She says progress has been made but is still encouraging more women, people of colour and other marginalized groups to ‘get behind the camera and tell their stories.’
(Image: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
It comes after Friends fans were shocked to learn Aniston dated her co-star for two years. It’s been more than two decades since Jennifer Aniston ‘s relationship with a future Friends co-star ended but some fans say they have only just found out about the romance.
Over its ten seasons she worked alongside various colleagues, including actor Tate Donovan, now 60, whom she had dated for two years prior. Tate – known for shows like the O.C. – had a guest role as Joshua Burgin on the fourth season of Friends in episodes that aired back in 1998.
Joshua was introduced as a love-interest for Rachel, whom he hired as a personal shopper. The two characters went on to briefly date but ended up parting ways later in the season.
(Image: NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Jennifer and Tate had themselves dated in real life for two years after having met in 1995, and he has previously said that his role on the show came amid their break-up.
Tate told Us Weekly in 2018: “The only bummer was Jennifer and I were breaking up at the time. And so that was tricky to sort of act, and act like we are just meeting each other, and falling in love, or whatever, interested in each other, when we’re sort of breaking up.”
He said that it was “just tough” and dispelled the idea that the former couple had dated after meeting on Friends. Tate told the outlet: “In fact we had dated for two years before then, and it was over by the time we were on Friends together.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
