When the show about a close-knit group of friends living in New York City debuted in 1994, it was an immediate hit, thanks to the efforts of creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane.
Even after its 2004 cancellation, Friends has continued to be a beloved television series ever since.
Even while the sitcom is extremely well-liked, its lack of diversity has drawn criticism over the years, and now one of the stars has spoken out.
Diversity in New York includes a wide range of racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. According to Date USA, the city’s population is made up of 31.2% White non-Hispanic people, 21% Black or African American non-Hispanic people, 14.4% Asian non-Hispanic people, 14.2% Other non-Hispanic people, and 6.3% White non-Hispanic people.
However, all six of the major characters in the sitcom, which is set in a city with such a diverse population, are white, and other racial and ethnic groups are only sporadically represented in supporting parts.
Aisha Tyler starred in nine episodes overall as the first Black actress to have a recurring role in the show. She portrayed Dr. Charlie Wheeler, a professor of paleontology who collaborated with Ross, represented by David Schwimmer, before dating him.
Schwimmer stated that he thought it was “just wrong” that the show did not feature more diverse cultural representation in an interview with Entertainment Tonight from 2020.
“I really felt like Ross should date other people, women of all races,” the actor remarked.
The Los Angeles Times was informed at the time by co-creator Kauffman that it was “difficult and frustrating” that Friends was being criticized for its lack of diversity. However, she has since had second thoughts.
Since then, Kauffman has stated that the reason the comedy didn’t succeed in being more inclusive was because she had absorbed institutional racism, which she only realized after the Black Lives Matter movement and the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
The co-creator said: “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.”
“That was really the moment that I began to examine the ways I had participated. I knew then I needed to course-correct.”
Since then, Kauffman has committed $4 million to Brandeis University, located in the Boston area, in exchange for a chair in the Department of African and African American Studies.
However, Kauffman and Schwimmer are not the only series regulars to voice their opinions; a longtime fan favorite character has also lately noted the lack of diversity in the program.
Adam Goldberg has also made a statement. Eddie was Chandler’s short-term, eccentric roommate.
Even though he was only in three episodes, he is nevertheless regarded as one of the most recognizable figures from the program.
He discussed his generally favorable experience of being a part of the show in an interview with the Independent, but he also stated that, in retrospect, he is certain that the series does not accurately portray the people of New York.
Goldberg said: “One criticism was how the hell do these people afford to even live in New York? Their apartment is massive, and it’s an incredibly unrealistic portrayal of New York.”
The actor continued: “And in terms of diversity, looking back, it seems insane. I’ve heard Black people speak about this and it’s like, you never expected to see yourself, so when you didn’t, it was not a surprise, and you ended up identifying to characters, irrespective of their race.”
Goldberg says that, at the time, it was ‘the norm that there was such a lack of diversity,’ and that as a Jewish man himself, he spent a lot of his ‘career complaining about how Italians can play Jews.’
He said: “You very rarely see someone who’s a known Jewish actor playing Italian.”
The Dazed and Confused actor continued: “I would get feedback about not being all-American enough, which, you know, if you were to say that to somebody now you’d probably be fired.”
“That was the culture as a whole, and television was just an amplification of that culture,” claims Goldberg.
