Actress Jennifer Aniston opened up about how much has changed since “Friends” first aired.
In an interview with the Associated Foreign Press, Aniston, 54, voiced her opinion on how people have responded to the sitcom today compared to the 1990s.
“There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of ‘Friends’ and find them offensive,” Aniston said, according to Yahoo.
Continuing, she said, “There were things that were never intentional and others … well, we should have thought it through — but I don’t think there was a sensitivity like there is now.”
Aniston also explained how comedians have to watch what they say now so they don’t offend others.
“Comedy has evolved, movies have evolved. 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,” the “Murder Mystery 2” star said.
She added, “You could joke about a bigot and have a laugh. That was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were, and now we’re not allowed to do that.”
Aniston said that she believes “Everybody needs funny!” and “The world needs humor!”
Jennifer Aniston Says 'A Whole Generation of Kids’ Finds ‘Friends’ Offensive: 'You Have to Be Very Careful' With Comedy Now https://t.co/JikheyT6hW
— Variety (@Variety) March 29, 2023
“We can’t take ourselves too seriously. Especially in the United States. Everyone is far too divided,” she commented.
This came after “Friends” co-creator Marta Kauffman spoke with the Los Angeles Times in 2022 about the backlash she received for the lack of diversity in the show, which she referred to as “difficult and frustrating” at the time.
However, Kauffman said that she has “learned a lot” since the show first premiered in 1994.
“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 shared.
“Friends” actress Lisa Kudrow also weighed in on the controversy in an interview with The Daily Beast.
“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 color,” she said.
Kudrow added, “I think at that time, the big problem that I was seeing was, ‘Where’s the apprenticeship?’”