Jennifer Aniston Agrees Some Old Friends Episodes Are ‘Offensive’

The one where Jennifer Aniston looks back on problematic episodes of Friends…

While many have enjoyed the mega-popular sitcom over the years, it has also faced a ton of criticism for its lack of diversity and moments viewers found to be sexist, homophobic, and fatphobic. Does anyone else remember Courteney Cox‘s “fat Monica?” Yeah, not a plotline you could do now. But fans of the series aren’t the only ones who realize there are episodes of Friends that did not age well at all!

In a new interview with the Agence France-Presse news agency published this week, Jennifer – who portrayed Rachel Green on the series for ten seasons between 1994 and 2004 – reflected on how comedy has shifted over the years, acknowledging there are jokes and storylines in the sitcom that a new generation of people now find “offensive.” And she agrees! Recognizing they “should have thought it through” more, Jennifer said:

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

The Morning Show star added that “comedy” and “movies have evolved” so much since the days of Friends that it makes it tough for some comedians and actors:

“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.”

Nowadays, Jennifer pointed out that jokes aren’t received the same as they were years ago:

“You could joke about a bigot and have a laugh i[n the past] — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were. And now we’re not allowed to do that.”

Because of this, the We’re The Millers star feels that is why Hollywood hasn’t churned out a lot of comedies – something she believes is a “tragedy.” Jennifer added: