'Friends' Creator Reveals Series Regrets: 'That Was A Mistake'

“Friends” may be a sitcom loved by many fans for its iconic lines and relatable characters, but it hasn’t escaped the waves of negative criticisms despite ending in 2004.

It was pegged to have a lighthearted, fun, and comedic vibe that made fans want to watch it again and again, but got criticized for not being gender accepting, particularly on how the show handled Chandler Bing’s (Matthew Perry) transgender parent.

In an interview with “The Conversation” on the BBC World Service, releasing on July 11, “Friends” co-creator Marta Kauffman, 65, admitted that the series lacked gender diversity. She expressed regret in misgendering Chandler's father, claiming it was a “mistake” not to refer to her as a “she,” according to the Variety.

“We kept referring to her [Chandler’s transgender parent] as ‘Chandler’s father’, even though Chandler’s father was trans,” Kauffman said, “Pronouns were not yet something that I understood. So, we didn’t refer to that character as ‘she’. That was a mistake.”

Bing’s parent was mentioned throughout the series but only appeared for two guest appearances in “Friends” Season 7.

The role was played by American actress Kathleen Turner, famous for films released in the 80s such as “Body Heat,” “Romancing the Stone,” and “Prizzi’s Honor,” which were all nominated for a Golden Globe and won.

In an interview on “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” back in 2019, Turner was asked how much she loved playing Chandler’s father in the series.

She agreed to play the role because the character was something she had not done before.

“At the time, one of the co-creator of 'Friends,' he came up to me in a show in San Francisco, came backstage and said you have to play Chandler’s dad,” Turner said.

“I thought, okay let me think now, a woman playing a man, playing a woman. I haven’t done that. So, I said yes,” she added.

However, she would not be accepting the role in the present because “there would be real people able to do it [the role].”

Meanwhile, Kauffman acknowledged that “Friends” also received negative criticism for lacking Black representation when the setting of the series was based on New York.

“'Friends' has been criticized in a number of ways. The biggest one being that we did not have enough representation of Black people. And over the course of the last few years I’ve gotten to the point where I can say, unfortunately, ‘Yes, I am guilty of that,'” she said.

Just recently, Kauffman did an interview with the Los Angeles Times about how she mishandled the series' criticisms before since she felt bothered that it was “singled out” by many viewers for its lack of diversity.

Turner explained that later on she had accepted her mistake and had a “change of heart.” She even donated $4 million to Brandeis University in funding for the Marta F. Kauffman ‘78 Professorship in African and African American Studies.

“I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years,” Kauffman 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.”

She also shared that she had received overwhelming support and “gotten nothing but love” since the interview with the Los Angeles Times got released.

“It’s been amazing. It surprised me to some extent because I didn’t expect the news to go this wide. I’ve gotten a flood of emails and texts and posts that have been nothing but supportive. I’ve gotten a lot of ‘It’s about time.’ Not in a mean way. It’s just people acknowledging it was long overdue,” she said.

“Friends” fans can still catch all ten seasons of the series on HBO Max.