Lisa Kudrow On The Lack Of Diversity In Friends(Photo Credit–Lisa Kudrow/Facebook/Poster From Friends)
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Friends alum Lisa Kudrow is reminiscing about the show and speaks on the lack of diversity in it. While the 90’s sitcom that also starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry remains among the most iconic ones, it had its own fair shares of controversies. One of the biggest of them all is the lack of people of colour in it.
Several people pointed out how the entire leading cast is white, and besides a few minor characters, such as Ross’ girlfriend Charlie, none of them is black or of other ethnicities. Though it has been years since the series ended, the debate around it is still prevalent.
Now, Lisa Kudrow, aka Phoebe Buffay, has spoken about the same. The Friends actress shared her two cents with The Daily Beast and said, “Well, I feel like it was a show created by two people who went to Brandeis and wrote about their lives after college. And for shows especially, when it’s going to be a comedy that’s character-driven, you write what you know.”
“They have no business writing stories about the experiences of being a person of colour. I think at that time, the big problem that I was seeing was, ‘Where’s the apprenticeship?'” Lisa Kudrow continued. Previously, Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman spoke about the same and expressed her regret over the lack of diversity in her show.
Kauffman said that it took her a long time to understand how she “internalised systemic racism.” Meanwhile, recently Lisa also made the headlines over her sharing feeling insecure around her co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, while shooting the show.
Lisa Kudrow revealed that she wasn’t confident in how she looked next to them. But also shared that both the female Friends co-stars supported her through thick and thin.
