‘Friends‘ has always been seen as a fun, comforting show we all love to watch again and again. It made audiences laugh and feel close to the characters. But behind the happy scenes, things were not always as smooth as they looked.
Now, Lisa Kudrow has shared what really happened during filming. She spoke about her experience and described the environment as “brutal,” especially because of how the mostly male writing team behaved.
Lisa Kudrow Shares Details About Harsh Treatment From ‘Friends’ Writers
In an interview with The Times, Kudrow said that working on ‘Friends‘ was not always easy. She shared, “There was definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes,” and things could get uncomfortable at times.
Related: ‘Friends’ Actor Lisa Kudrow Voices Against Phoebe Buffay’s “Such a Ditz” Label
The pressure was high because the show was filmed in front of a live audience of about 400 people. If a joke did not land well or a line was not said perfectly, some writers reacted very strongly. Kudrow said they could say things like, “Can’t the bitch f—ing read?” and even complain that she was not trying and had messed up their line.
The Phoebe star explained that the situation could feel very tough. She said the relationship between the cast and writers “could be brutal.” She also pointed out that most of the writers were men who worked very late into the night, sometimes until 3 a.m., to improve the script.
Because of this, she chose not to take their comments too seriously. She said her thinking was, “Say what you like about me behind my back because then it doesn’t matter.”
Inappropriate Conversations From ‘Mostly Male’ Writers Made Things More Intense
Kudrow also spoke about another issue that made the environment more difficult. She said some male writers had inappropriate conversations about her co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox.
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Kudrow added that people on the set knew that “back in the room, the guys would be up late discussing their sexual fantasies about Jennifer and Courteney.” She described the situation simply by saying, “It was intense.”
This is not the first time people have raised concerns about the writers’ room. In 2004, former assistant Amaani Lyle filed a case against Warner Bros. Television. She claimed that she faced sexual and racial harassment and that writers often made crude jokes and gestures.
However, the California Supreme Court ruled against her and said that such humor could be part of a creative work environment. Even with these experiences, Kudrow has spoken about both the good and bad sides of working on the show.
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