Jennifer Aniston Says Comedy Has Changed & Some Today Find ‘Friends’ Offensive: “I Don’t Think There Was A Sensitivity Like There Is Now”

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Jennifer Aniston Says Comedy Has Changed & Some Today Find ‘Friends’ Offensive: “I Don’t Think There Was A Sensitivity Like There Is Now”

Jennifer Aniston spoke recently about the state of comedy and what’s considered funny – and what’s not – on the occasion of the debut of her new Netflix comedy Murder Myster…

deadline.com

Jennifer Aniston spoke recently about the state of comedy and what's considered funny – and what's not – on the occasion of the debut of her new Netflix comedy Murder Mystery 2 with Adam Sandler.

"Comedy has evolved, movies have evolved," the former Friends star told French news agency AFP.

"Now it's a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it really hard for comedians, because the beauty of comedy is that we make fun of ourselves, make fun of life," she said, before getting specific.

In years past, "you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were," said Aniston. "And now we're not allowed to do that."

In fact, that's not even considered funny anymore to many people, she says.

"There's a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find them offensive.

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She should expand on the idea of comedy, bigotry and education.

 

[obin_gam]

Its like the least toothy show ever 😅

 

[It’s Time To Go]

Yeah ha ha racism is funny.

Im pretty sure even back in the 90s there were people calling out Friends for being so incredibly white.

 

[TeenageFBI]

Im pretty sure even back in the 90s there were people calling out Friends for being so incredibly white.

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It was a thing, sure. It's a more common sentiment now though.

 

[Tace]

She should be happy that certain things 30 years ago aren't considered funny anymore. It's progress. Beyond that, it's been nearly 3 decades and people still watch Friends. Obviously y'all did something right

 

[theme park joe]

No one told you life was going to be this way

 

[Fudgepuppy]

"In years past, "you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were," said Aniston. "And now we're not allowed to do that.""

No, you can still do that. It's being done constantly and is appreciated by audiences. What has changed is the definition of a bigot.

 

[Madao]

i think that genuine good comedy is comedy that is always funny regardless of the era.

if there's comedy that becomes bad due to the changing of times, it means it was never very good in the first place.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

Friends has long been skewered for its all-white cast and the fantasy scenario of six twentysomethings being able to afford Manhattan apartments.

Show co-creator Marta Kauffman spoke out last year on the lack of diversity both in front of and behind the camera and her part in it.

"It was after what happened to George Floyd that I began to wrestle with my having bought into systemic racism in ways I was never aware of," said Kauffman. "That was really the moment that I began to examine the ways I had participated. I knew then I needed to course-correct."

As a result, she pledged, "I want to make sure from now on in every production I do that I am conscious in hiring people of color and actively pursue young writers of color. I want to know I will act differently from now on."

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On the show's 25th anniversary, Out looked at both its enduring appeal and reminded readers that "Friends is still really, really homophobic."

Some examples:

The male characters "showed a noted discomfort and disdain toward LGBTQ+ people," according to Out. Specifically, the publication cited Chandler's aversion to his transgender parent (played by Kathleen Turner) and an episode in which Ross "insists his male nanny must be gay."

Out observes that "nearly anytime LGBTQ+ people are brought up through the show, it's played for laughs" — whether it's the running joke that people think Chandler is gay or a bit where Joey convinces an acting student with whom he is competing for a role that the character should be played "homosexually."

The publication also calls out a tendency on Friends to trade on "gay panic for cheap laughs." One example cited: Joey and Ross freak out after accidentally falling asleep together on the couch. "What happened?" Ross screams, before insisting, "We fell asleep — that is all."

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[Post Reply]

Yeah ha ha racism is funny.

Im pretty sure even back in the 90s there were people calling out Friends for being so incredibly white.

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Yeah, black folk were calling it out for the clear rip off of Living Single that it was.

 

[signal]

'gen z finds this boring' = 'kids today cant handle comedy'

 

[JustTeaThankYou]

So my memory of Friends is pretty hazy. It was obviously very very white, but apart from that I don't remember anything comedically offensive about it? Like were there racist jokes I am not remembering?

Recently I re-watched some early season Scrubs, and was surprised by how gross some of the characters were in the context of today (eg the way JD / Turk talk about women). I do wonder if, upon rewatch, Friends would be similar.

 

[rjinaz]

There is probably plenty in Friends that is offensive. Just assuming since it was on the air so long in that time. Regardless, the show could exist just fine today. Some part just would have been written differently and the main story plots and character development would be unchanged. Do not know about y'all or Aniston but I do not get my laughter from homophobia or transphobia these days and yet I am still laughing at plenty.

 

[entremet]

I was in my teens when Friends aired and I honestly didn't get most of it. Just was not in that stage of life.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

So my memory of Friends is pretty hazy. It was obviously very very white, but apart from that I don't remember anything comedically offensive about it? Like were there racist jokes I am not remembering?

Recently I re-watched some early season Scrubs, and was surprised by how gross some of the characters were in the context of today (eg the way JD / Turk talk about women). I do wonder if, upon rewatch, Friends would be similar.

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See my post which contains quotes from the OP's article

 

[Diablos]

Some parts are. Like constantly joking about Monica being obese when she was younger — honestly, this is so annoying and out of place. Also, the now uncomfortable practice of making "gay jokes" as a means to warm people up to the conversation is EXTREMELY dated.

Overall it wasn't terrible though, but by any metric it IS dated.

 

[Bengraven]

Yeah, it's offensive that all six of them are white. None of their actual comedy is more daring.

 

[Disco Infernal]

Binged it all last year and the most troublesome part is the lack of diversity. A lot of the comedy still holds up and I was impressed with how consistently funny it was across 22+ episodes a season. It's also quite tame though. Friends biggest mistake is in its mocking of the overweight. Shows that came much later like 30 Rock that should have known better are far more offensive. Especially in regards to their treatment of trans individuals.

 

[SageShinigami]

There is probably plenty in Friends that is offensive. The show could exist just fine today. Some part just would have been written differently and the main story plots and character development would be unchanged. Do not know about y'all or Aniston but I do not get my laughter from homophobia or transphobia these days and yet I am still laughing at plenty.

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They did a new "Friends" like a decade ago, it was called Happy Endings.

 

[Yesterzine]

So my memory of Friends is pretty hazy. It was obviously very very white, but apart from that I don't remember anything comedically offensive about it? Like were there racist jokes I am not remembering?

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It's not the worst but there's a lot of "LOL Lesbians", there's the entire plot of Monica previously being larger that was treated appallingly, there's the alcoholic boyfriend bit that wasn't...great.

And literally everything involving Chandler's parents.

 

[Wrexis]

It's outdated, but it's also 30 years old. What do people expect?

Think back to the 90s and 30 year old shows that you might have caught on TV. 60s shows. 60s.
I remember watching Fawlty Towers in the 90s as a teenager and thinking it was dated AF and that's only a 70s show.

 

[entremet]

It's outdated, but it's also 30 years old. What do people expect?

Think back to the 90s and 30 year old shows that you might have caught on TV. 60s shows. 60s.
I remember watching Fawlty Towers in the 90s as a teenager and thinking it was dated AF and that's only a 70s show.

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Yep. I think folks miss this--a lot.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

It's outdated, but it's also 30 years old. What do people expect?

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Yep. I think folks miss this--a lot.

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Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for example is even older but isn't outdated

 

[theme park joe]

It's outdated, but it's also 30 years old. What do people expect?

Think back to the 90s and 30 year old shows that you might have caught on TV. 60s shows. 60s.
I remember watching Fawlty Towers in the 90s as a teenager and thinking it was dated AF and that's only a 70s show.

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yup, big "oh no we're old" energy. Plus didn't gen z discover Friends on Netflix and LOVE it?

 

[Tace]

Yep. I think folks miss this--a lot.

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Even early 2000s comedies like Scrubs are outdated now. A lot of that comedy wouldn't fly today

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for example is even older but isn't outdated

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Ehhh might not be as offensive but it is certainly outdated, especially those early seasons

 

[rjinaz]

Honestly I feel like the problem with these people is that they have Nostalgia for the old days. Sorry, yes, you are getting older and shit changes.

She has it right at the start acknowledging the changes, but then seems saddened that to her things just are not as funny as they used to be.

But then they do not really stop to think why that might be and how comedy often came at the expense of mocking Minorities and the vulnerable. Instead it is everybody else that is the problem. She even tries to ignore that problem completely by saying "well actually we used to make fun of bigots". No Jen...

 

[Malleymal]

No one cared about the comedy…. It just wasn't diverse. Many shows back then fit argument that she is making.. like In Living Color. That show wouldn't work today.

 

[Zeel]

Seinfeld is even older and aged alot better, it may have been predominantly white but it still had alot more diversity compared to friends.

 

[Fat4all]

i think about all the casual gay jokes from the 90s and its much of a muchness

fake acceptance in one hand, ridicule in the other

nowadays we're taking back our own meanings, and we are finally in control of our narratives

 

[Deleted member 13360]

There are a lot of things in this world that are not everlasting, and Friends is one of them. Be okay with and just move on (unless you were asked in an interview).

 

[Devil]

I think this was the most curious of the comments:

"In years past, "you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were," said Aniston. "And now we're not allowed to do that.""

This is probably specifically about Ross. Ross was afraid of being viewed as gay or questioned someone else's sexuality when a man was doing something he viewed as feminine (like caring for your family at home, lol). But I don't really remember that the show was acting as if Ross was right to act like a bigot, I felt like he was regularly portrayed as much more insecure than he thinks he is.

I think Aniston is wrong that you can't portray a bigot anymore and laugh about them. Many comedies did that after them even with protagonists, like Always Sunny, Community or even HIMYM. But it probably needs to be a bit more obvious that the character is in the wrong than it was in Friends.

There is still a lot of other cases of legit criticism against Friends, like there is very little to defend the fatsuit jokes nowadays for example. But I can kind lf see where Aniston is coming from cause some very specific criticism is a bit over the top because bigotry was usually not portrayed as the right thing.

 

[Snagret]

yup, big "oh no we're old" energy. Plus didn't gen z discover Friends on Netflix and LOVE it?

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All of the people I know who love Friends are like, teenagers or younger lol. I think everyone I know my age (early 30s) that grew up with it thinks it kinda sucks.

 

[SuperBanana]

The occasional gay joke and the fat monica stuff wouldn't fly, but fat monica was the laziest shit even back then. The entire gag was "LOL Monica ate 5 chocolate bars!"

Aside from that, the show is pretty tame. It's even got a retro comeback with Gen Z.

 

[Speevy]

A lot of those 90s shows make gay jokes but I don't think Friends is racist. It's just not at all reflective of the place where it's set, or the reality of living in a city, or anything. It's just a bunch of people who overreact to mundane situations and occasionally sleep with each other.

 

[OneTrueJack]

In years past, "you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were," said Aniston. "And now we're not allowed to do that."

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Over the course of 10 seasons and 236 episodes, I can't think of a single time Friends tackled bigotry. Like, in any capacity.

And yeah, early Friends is glaringly homophobic.

 

[rjinaz]

They did a new "Friends" like a decade ago, it was called Happy Endings.

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I think it would be hard for any new show to try and replicate the Friend's formula with success moreso because people love the original. Like I would watch a show like that and think "they are trying so hard to be Friends. But this is not my Friends"...

 

[Bengraven]

i think about all the casual gay jokes from the 90s and its much of a muchness

fake acceptance in one hand, ridicule in the other

nowadays we're taking back our own meanings, and we are finally in control of our narratives

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Dammit, the dog has no jokes today, only solid truths.

100%.

 

[rjinaz]

All of the people I know who love Friends are like, teenagers or younger lol. I think everyone I know my age (early 30s) that grew up with it thinks it kinda sucks.

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I used to watch Friends. Havent since it aired. Ironically a few years ago my Sister's kids became obsessed with it. Frakin 10 year olds driving me crazy on car trips because they had to play Friends non stop. I started to hate it lol.

So yeah lol at least that is how it was for me too.

 

[JustTeaThankYou]

See my post which contains quotes from the OP's article

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Huh, I remember absolutely none of that (I have vague memories of Chandler having a trans parent, and him being uncomfortable / embarrassed, but no specifics). Not that I was a massive fan of the show (I don't think I saw any of the later seasons). It definitely sounds like I just accepted it at the time, and if I rewatched it now it would stand out like a sore thumb.

 

[jaymzi]

Making fun of ourselves? Joke about a bigot? Since when do people have a problem with that?

I think she confused it with making fun of others and a bigot making jokes.

 

[Zem]

In years past, "you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were," said Aniston. "And now we're not allowed to do that."

In fact, that's not even considered funny anymore to many people, she says.

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Always Sunny has been going for 18 years at this point.

 

[Netherscourge]

My only knowledge of Friends is two memes - the Thanksgiving Pants and the Stairs Pivot.

I was more into Cheers, Frasier and Seinfeld back then.

 

[1-D_FE]

On the matter of Friends, I've just kind of grown to hate the show because they're awful people. But not in the context that Seinfeld was. Seinfeld you knew they were awful people from day one. And you laughed at these a-holes getting theres. This is a show where they're supposed to be good people, but they're really not.

Ross is crucified for being pro-science and he really should have ditched all these aholes years ago. They all suck. And they turned him nuts.

And those stupid Ross-Rachel plotlines really aged poorly in an era of binge-watching. That relationship is so far beyond toxic it just becomes unwatchable.

"In years past, "you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were," said Aniston. "And now we're not allowed to do that.""

No, you can still do that. It's being done constantly and is appreciated by audiences. What has changed is the definition of a bigot.

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i think that genuine good comedy is comedy that is always funny regardless of the era.

if there's comedy that becomes bad due to the changing of times, it means it was never very good in the first place.

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I would also say the context matters too. There are standups that push things to the edge and it's still funny because you know where it's coming from. And it's clearly exposing stupidity and hatefulness.

There's some stand up where it's just extremely calculated. For pure shock value. And their entire act can be that way. No context. No storytelling. Just trying to find the most shocking diarrhea they can spit out. You could assume they're saying it to expose the ridiculousness of the statement, but there's also a lot of people who could take it literally and laugh their ass off for the "truth" in the stereotypes they're zinging one after another. These comics have aged really poorly and they can get lost as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Maledict]

Huh, I remember absolutely none of that (I have vague memories of Chandler having a trans parent, and him being uncomfortable / embarrassed, but no specifics). Not that I was a massive fan of the show (I don't think I saw any of the later seasons). It definitely sounds like I just accepted it at the time, and if I rewatched it now it would stand out like a sore thumb.

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Yeah, its very.. unpleasant.

Chandler's dad isn't described as trans, just as a gay man - but played by Kathleen Turner. It has such witty jokes as "Don't you have a bit too much penis to wear a dress like that?".

Cheap jokes at gay and trans people pepper Friends, and not just from the start - even the later episodes have exactly the same approach and jokes. They never changed that aspect at all.

 

[bushmonkey]

Some things have aged badly but it's still one of the least offensive shows ever, come on now.

 

[Symphony]

Over 50% of the poll saying no when Friends wore homophobia and transphobia on its sleeve is... rather sad.

 

[sersteven]

Man I hate Friends. Most milquetoast, bland sitcom ever made.

I hate all these people coming out and crying about not being able to be casually racist/sexist/ignorant AS A JOKE anymore. As someone above said, It's Always Sunny clearly shows you can still do it if you do it well. You write it as if these people ARE insane and unhinged. They're the joke, there is no wink. 90s sitcoms, no, the LGBTQ or people of color WERE the joke then, the white rich entitled assholes living in NYC lofts were never at the butt of it, they were just the crucibles.

 

[Rosebud]

Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for example is even older but isn't outdated

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Fresh Prince is really sexist at times

 

[Beef Supreme]

What I found offensive about Friends is how incredibly unfunny it was. It was my times equivalent to the Big Bang Theory which is just as offensive.

I don't see her point, though. There's a lot more 'edgier' comedy going today then Friends put out.

 

[Betty]

Some things have aged badly but it's still one of the least offensive shows ever, come on now.

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It sure is but people are very sensitive these days, the things that upset them in the show, (among others) are

- the lesbians couple being depicted as less than perfect beings, especially Susan
- the guys over reacting negatively to accusations of being gay
- jokes about Chandlers father who was a drag queen
- jokes about Gunther possibly being gay
- Joey's attitude towards women
- lots of fat shaming especially towards Monica when she was younger
- Chandlers boss and his habit of slapping employees on the ass
- and of course the most greivous thing of all: that the cast is majoratively white... despite the fact there were shows with majoratively black casts like Fresh Prince and Cosbys and I doubt anyone's going to be calling them out anytime soon

A lot of the same issues are in How I Met Your Mother too, including the mostly white cast... but due to how badly that show ended no one really cares.