‘Friends’ Co-creator Marta Kauffman Opens Up About the Show’s Lack of Diversity
Friends has been back in the spotlight due to the HBO Max reunion special, and while still beloved by many, there is one issue with the show that always gets people talking: the lack of diversity.
Speaking on Sunday’s episode of CNN docuseries History of the Sitcom, Designing Women actress Sheryl Lee Ralph said, “I never watched Friends because they could not possibly find a way to add anybody of color.” Throughout its run from 1994 to 2004, Friends featured six white leads, and most of the recurring guest stars were also white.
The show’s co-creator and executive producer, Marta Kauffman, also appeared in the special and directly addressed Friends‘ diversity problems. “It was, to a certain extent, a product of the time period. And of my own ignorance,” she explained. “There were black shows and there were white shows. There weren’t a lot of shows that were interracial.”
Kauffman went on to explain that the sitcom was based on her life experiences at the time, as well as that of Friends co-creator, David Crane. “I guess at the time I was thinking, ‘This is what I know. This is what I know,'” she added.
Speaking at a virtual panel at the ATX TV Festival last year, Kauffman apologized for the show’s lack of diversity and said that she would have made very different decisions in hindsight. “I wish I knew then what I knew today,” she stated. “I would have made very different decisions. We’ve always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn’t do enough.”
“Now all I can think about is what can I do, what can I do differently. How can I run my show in a new way?” the Grace & Frankie showrunner continued. “That’s something I wish I knew when I started showrunning but all the way up through last year.”
David Schwimmer, who played Ross Geller in the sitcom, also touched on the topic in an interview with the Guardian last year. “I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color,” he said. “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.”
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P
Please stop explaining yourself.. in the 90s most shows were segregated. I’m a person of color (black) and I enjoyed the show. This is just ridiculous and their are so many other messed up things on this planet to complain about!
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G
Interesting that shows such as Living Single, the Cosby Show and Blackish aren't criticized for lack of diversity. Isn't that hypocritical?
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C
Oh please, will this please stop!! I am so sick of white people being portrayed as “bad people” or “racist” just because there aren’t the same number of blacks! You know there are more black basketball players and football players, why isn’t that considered not having enough diversity?? I’m so sick of this feigned racism. Blacks have the same if not more opportunities in today’s world.
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Casting is in the spotlight and we must strive and demand to include fairly. If not, you get what we have now - people trying to blame individual people for the systemic diversity issues that exist in this country. People become hyper-sensitized, overreactive, and volatile. It's always a trade off and knee-jerk reactions from the world of instant gratification. No one should be debating the fact that the 'cast is the cast'. The diversity and inclusivity issue will not be solved overnight and we can't change the past. It is a work in progress. We need to work together to improve diversity and inclusion, not become more divisive. Moving forward in show business we work to make positive strides one casting at a time, not by blaming individuals for the wrongs in American history or by attempting to rewrite it.
The public is perceiving the diversity and inclusion issue with Friends: The Reunion as part of the problem. Now is the time to answer the urgent cry for social justice. As a Sociocultural Anthropologist, we study the culture of human beings, the culture of the world, culture on a global scale and the culture of connection and togetherness. Friends: The Reunion has allowed us to delineate the glaring differences between international diversity and inclusion vs. American diversity and inclusion in real time. Through ethnographic research we reveal a more holistic view of what it is we mean when we say the words diversity and inclusion. It's okay to be upset, it's okay to vo
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Careful when you produce TV shows now....your ancestors will have to apologize 50 years from now.
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No, it’s not and if you have a head you understand why.
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