- 3 months ago
Behind the laughter and iconic moments, “Friends” had its share of difficult and dark realities. From on-set struggles and typecasting to cast members’ personal battles and controversial storylines, this video explores the lesser-known challenges the beloved sitcom faced throughout its run. Discover the truths that even the biggest fans might find hard to accept.
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00:00It just happened to be the exact same time that I was going through something really hard and then
00:03find out that the same week Monica was. It was weird.
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo. And today we're looking at unfortunate facts that fans may be interested in
00:12but not want to think about surrounding the classic feel-good sitcom Friends.
00:16And now it seems impossible that all those years ago when we were laughing,
00:20we never knew that the young star was fighting for his life.
00:25Number 20. Jennifer Aniston hated the Rachel haircut.
00:29If you were a woman in the mid-90s, there's a good chance that at some point
00:34you went into your local hair salon and asked for the Rachel haircut.
00:37And don't worry, you weren't alone. Women everywhere were doing it.
00:41You got plugs.
00:42Careful, careful. I haven't quite taken it.
00:46And you got lenses. But you're hate sticking your finger in your eye.
00:5011 million in Britain alone admitted to giving the do a try.
00:54But how did the woman who started it all feel about the look?
00:57Well, when Aniston first got the cut, she loved it.
00:59God, isn't this exciting? I earned this.
01:02I wiped tables for it. I steamed milk for it.
01:05And it was totally not worth it.
01:08But those feelings changed pretty quickly when, quote,
01:11I was totally left with this frizzy mop on my head
01:14because I had no idea how to do what my stylist did.
01:17As she described it, maintaining the look was a high-maintenance escapade
01:21involving a blow dryer and multiple brushes.
01:23Number 19. Marcel the Menace
01:26A particularly polarizing element in Season 1 of Friends was Ross' pet capuchin Marcel.
01:31Whether you found his hijinks cute or cloying, there weren't many laughs on the set.
01:36Marcel's actress Katie was a terror, whose disobedience and aggression often delayed shooting.
01:42Ironically, her relationship with David Schwimmer was especially contentious.
01:46In a 1995 interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said that he wished the monkey were dead.
01:50He must be a great actor to have sold Ross' heartbreak when Marcel is sent to a zoo.
01:55I'm really gonna miss you.
01:58You know, and I'm never gonna forget about you.
02:01You've been more than just a pet to me.
02:05That this wasn't just a response to audience backlash may spoil the nostalgia of Marcel Defenders.
02:11But after Katie passed away in 2020,
02:13her trainer condemned Schwimmer for his additional snide remarks during the HBO Max reunion special.
02:18So I'd have monkey grubby hands all over, all over, and it just wasn't, it was time for Marcel to...
02:26Number 18. Typecasting
02:28While some of the extremely talented lead actors on Friends would be personally overwhelmed by superstardom,
02:34they all opened up about typecasting.
02:36Courtney Cox and Matthew Perry were clearly stagnated by roles that tried to replicate Monica and Chandler's personalities.
02:42David Schwimmer, with his focus on being a serious artist,
02:46turned down many promising side projects because the characters were too much like Ross.
02:50And then there's Jennifer Aniston, who has worked hard to shake her status as a rom-com darling.
02:55Good. You're not dead.
02:57I don't have to break in, call the police.
02:59That's a relief.
03:01While typecasting is a common side effect of success in action,
03:04it seemed particularly hard on the Friends cast.
03:06Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc's meta resurgences with the comeback and episodes
03:10further imply the consequences of artists' reluctance to bend to brands.
03:15Number 17. Compromised Representation
03:18Friends was remarkably tasteful in its characterization of Ross' ex-wife Carol and her wife Susan.
03:24But the loving couple was often the butt of jokes that reduced them to their sexuality.
03:28We're getting married.
03:29As in, I now pronounce you wife and wife, Mary?
03:39This was a common tactic to make LGBTQIA plus representation less confrontational in 90s TV.
03:45But in 2025, actress Jane Sibbitt told People magazine that she was barely allowed to touch Jessica Hecht.
03:51The producers also shot down her suggestion that Carol and Susan kiss to seal their wedding.
03:56You know, nothing makes God happier than when two people, any two people, come together in love.
04:02Friends, family, we're gathered here today to join Carol and Susan in holy matrimony.
04:08Furthermore, co-creator Marta Kaufman had earlier expressed regret for mocking and misgendering
04:13Chandler's trans woman father played by Kathleen Turner.
04:16While you always have to take the good with the bad when pushing boundaries,
04:20it turns out the show's own crew could have pushed further.
04:23We'd really love it if you could be there.
04:26I know it would make me happy, ma'am.
04:37Number 16.
04:38The Writers
04:39It's no secret that a hit show's writing staff often works overwhelming hours with unfair pay.
04:45In her 2023 memoir and credits, Patty Lynn revealed just how intense the process was with Friends.
04:51She admitted to concerns that she was hired in 2000 largely in accordance with NBC's new diversity program.
04:57Then came the 12-hour shifts and conflicts with the cast.
05:01If I was ever going to have a chance of sort of reconnecting with my passion for writing,
05:06because working in the business had really sort of stomped out that passion.
05:11While it's natural for actors to become protective of long-term roles,
05:14our beloved stars had grown cynical and reluctant to praise the writers' efforts.
05:18It was even suggested that they would deliberately bomb at table reads if they wanted better material.
05:24The pressures from this and other jobs ultimately prompted Lynn to retire from TV writing at age 38.
05:29Friends was just especially high pressure.
05:32From the outside, it does look cool and glamorous.
05:36But I wanted to pull back the curtain and show an honest and full picture of what it was like to do that job.
05:44Number 15.
05:45The Friends Case
05:46The writing staff was altogether a leading source of tension in the usually tight-knit culture of Friends.
05:53History has largely forgotten the 2002 legal allegations of discrimination and harassment against Bright Kaufman Crane Productions.
05:59The most compelling case came from Amani Lyle, a writing assistant who claimed that her boss is frequently engaged in lewd banter and illustrations during meetings.
06:08There was supposedly even disturbing talk of the lead actresses and a storyline about Joey committing sexual assault.
06:14Joey has got a secret peephole.
06:19Oh no, no, no!
06:20Yes, he has a naked picture of Monica, he takes naked pictures of us, then he eats chicken, and then he looks at them!
06:26Lyle's lawsuit moved forward just before the series finale in 2004,
06:32only to be dismissed two years later on the grounds that indirect and infrequent offensive comments did not constitute harassment.
06:38The so-called Friends Case did not dispute that this crass work environment existed.
06:43Should be out of court by six.
06:44I keep throwing these sexual harassment cases at me and I keep knocking them out of the park!
06:49Okay, okay, see you tomorrow.
06:51Number 14.
06:52A Reshot Storyline
06:54The season 8 premiere ends with a text tribute to the people of New York City.
06:58This acknowledged the 9-11 terrorist attacks that occurred just two weeks earlier.
07:03Viewers were split over the lack of subsequent acknowledgement on a show known for both its New York identity and escapism.
07:10But a deleted scene from a UK edition DVD revealed that the one where Rachel Tells did respond.
07:15I'm sorry, you had some questions for me?
07:18Miss, what is your association with this man?
07:20Uh, he's my husband.
07:21I see.
07:22Oh, but only for a few days.
07:24I mean, I don't know what he does when he's outside the house.
07:27The original Chandler and Monica subplot revolved around them being detained at the airport because Chandler jokes about a bomb.
07:33The episode was quickly reshot with an alternate storyline about Monica's jealousy of another couple on their honeymoon.
07:39As hilarious as the final product is, it's chilling to think that it was necessitated by a national tragedy.
07:45Yeah, and if I know, but you don't understand, um, see, everything is packed separately.
07:49Oh, it took me forever to do this.
07:50Okay, there's like over 50 folded pieces.
07:55You're mean.
07:57Number 13.
07:58The Joey Rachel Affair
08:00Arguably the most controversial development on Friends was Joey's feelings for Rachel while she was pregnant with Ross's child.
08:15Their romantic arc ultimately runs for three seasons.
08:18It was embraced for its nuance by some and hated by others, including the cast.
08:23In a 2012 retrospective for Vanity Fair, Matt LeBlanc revealed that he immediately dismissed the storyline as a violation of Joey's characterization and the Ross-Rachel arc.
08:33His also disgruntled castmates formed a united front to talk showrunner David Crane out of this idea.
08:39Still, he proceeded in the interest of complicating the characters in contrast with Chandler and Monica's successful relationship growth.
08:45I think I'm falling in love with you.
08:51What?
08:53I'm falling in love with you.
08:56Whether the drama itself was successful for certain viewers, even the actors felt that Kaufman's executive decision didn't work.
09:04Number 12.
09:05Guest stars did not feel like guests.
09:07It's not even very comforting to know that the lead actors on Friends really were friends.
09:12In fact, they were so close that some supporting actors later admitted to feeling isolated.
09:17Never mind the guest stars.
09:18Uh, these are for you.
09:20Welcome to our country.
09:26I'm from New York.
09:29Lauren Tom and Kathleen Turner are among those who complained about difficulties in playing off of their castmates due to behind-the-scenes snubbing.
09:36Even Tom Selleck, one of Monica's key love interests, thought that the leads were too excessively clicky.
09:41I feel like I'm about a hundred.
09:44I thought I was just one of the guys.
09:47Kristen Davis and others found this pressure compounded by a rowdy live studio audience.
09:51Their hype had to have been supported by the palpable chemistry of the core cast.
09:55But it's hard for even the biggest stars to stay professional in that kind of environment.
10:00Number 11.
10:01Stephen Park
10:02Friends has long-faced controversy for its depiction of a Manhattan precariously lacking in racial and cultural diversity.
10:09Stephen Park says this was felt behind the scenes.
10:12One of his two episodes also featured legendary character actor James Hong, whom a crew member only referred to by an insensitive term for Asian people.
10:20How come when I call your computer support line, I have to wait an hour and a half?
10:24I told you, adding new operators all the time, can we concentrate on my training?
10:29It's just hard when I know I have email I can't get.
10:32Park was so outraged that in 1997, he wrote an open letter criticizing Hollywood's disregard for Asian actors and culture.
10:39It was credited with having an impact, but was quickly forgotten.
10:43That is, until Park affirmed in a 2025 Pod Meets World interview that the Friends set didn't feel particularly welcoming.
10:49This, in turn, affirms skepticism that the sitcom really is for everyone.
10:54At the time, for me, I felt it was kind of a toxic environment.
10:58Yep.
10:59And this racist, the AD calling, James Hong was the actor who was also on the episode with me, and he was calling him.
11:09Number 10.
11:09Jennifer Aniston almost quit before the final season.
11:12The question of when to end a television show isn't always an easy one.
11:16You know what, um, I have some goodbye stuff that I wanted to say to each of you, and I was gonna save it until the end of the night, but come here.
11:24Sure, sometimes the network makes the decision for you, but when the show is a hit, deciding when to call it quits can often come down to the actors themselves.
11:32With Friends, that decision was reportedly almost made by Jennifer Aniston after season 9.
11:36So I don't think I should do it anymore.
11:40I'm gonna give you my week's notice.
11:42What?
11:43Gunther, I quit.
11:44Aniston didn't know if there were any more stories worth telling, and as she admitted to Matt Lauer in 2004, quote,
11:50I wanted it to end when people still loved us and we were on a high.
11:54Who knows if they would have done a 10th season without Rachel, but we're glad we never had to find out.
11:59No, no!
12:01Oh my god, did she get off the plane? Did she get off the plane?
12:07I got off the plane.
12:09Number 9. Andre Agassi was extremely jealous when Brooke Shields guest starred.
12:16In January of 1996, tennis player Andre Agassi smashed all of his trophies and ripped up the walls in the room where he kept them in his house.
12:24Why did he do that?
12:25No, no, no, no, no, no. You don't have to tell me anything. You don't have to explain yourself to me.
12:31Oh, who am I to question the great Dr. Drake Remora?
12:35Was it because of a bad call on the court? Nope. It was because Brooke Shields licked Matt LeBlanc's finger.
12:40No, seriously.
12:43These hands. These miracle, magical, life-giving hands.
12:47Just to be near them, touch them, maybe even lick one.
12:50Shields had scored a guest role on the season 2, the one after the Super Bowl episode of Friends.
12:55In said episode, she goes on a date with Joey and licks his hand.
12:59Agassi and Shields were dating at the time, and according to Agassi, hand licking, even scripted hand licking, was quote, over the line.
13:06I know about you two. I saw you today kissing in the doctor's lounge.
13:12That's not what you think that was.
13:14You told me I was the only one!
13:16Seeing it sent him into a rage, and he took that anger out on his tennis trophies.
13:21Number 8. Matt LeBlanc's Onset Injury
13:24Remember the episode where Joey injures his arm falling off his bed?
13:27Whoa!
13:33See, Joe, that's why your parents told you not to jump on the bed.
13:37No, that wasn't how Matt LeBlanc hurt himself.
13:40However, it was how the writers incorporated his injury into the show.
13:43Had a whole story worked out, but then, uh, Chandler sold me out.
13:47Well, I'm sorry, Joe. I didn't think the doctor was gonna buy that it just fell out of the socket.
13:52The actual injury took place during the filming of the previous episode, the one where no one's ready.
13:57And I went just to jump over the coffee table and somehow tripped, and my legs went up in the air, and my shoulder came out of the socket.
14:05In that episode, Joey and Chandler are fighting over who gets to sit in the comfy chair.
14:09And at one point, they both go for the seat at the same time.
14:13In one take, LeBlanc's dive didn't go as planned, and he ended up dislocating his shoulder, leading to the sling Joey is wearing in the next episode.
14:20So we had to put that into the show, but we waited until he was okay again to film the ending of the one where no one was ready.
14:30Number 7. Lisa Kudrow Was Sued By Her Ex-Manager
14:33In 2007, three years after Friends ended its run on NBC, Lisa Kudrow fired her manager, Scott Howard.
14:40I am furious with him.
14:45Wow, um, calm down.
14:49I'm trying, but man, that guy can push my buttons.
14:52In 2008, Howard sued Kudrow, claiming that he was owed a 5% commission of her residuals from Friends,
14:59and all other work he negotiated for her prior to his termination.
15:03One thing that made this all more difficult to determine was the fact that Kudrow and Howard had an oral rather than written agreement about it.
15:10We provided a service, and we deserve to be paid because you ate that service.
15:14And, um, we are not leaving here until we are paid every penny.
15:18Because you know what, Lenny? We're part-time caterers, and we have no place else to go.
15:21However, while Kudrow won the initial summary judgment, a California appeals court reversed the ruling in 2014,
15:28and ordered Kudrow to pay Howard $1.6 million and a football phone.
15:33Okay, they didn't say anything about a football phone, but the money part is accurate.
15:36Football phone?
15:37As our free gift. Do you believe this? Now I have $1,000 and a football phone.
15:45Number 6. The network didn't love the cast's negotiation tactics.
15:50Each of the six main cast members were paid $22,500 per episode in the first season.
15:55However, come the second season, each of the friends was paid a different amount ranging from $20,000 to $40,000 per episode.
16:03We don't have as much money as you.
16:09Okay?
16:10I hear you. We can talk about that.
16:14Well, that wasn't going to work going forward.
16:16The group saw themselves as a true ensemble cast, with no one more important than the others.
16:21And, beginning with season 3, they decided to negotiate their salary as a group.
16:26What's more important, your friends or money?
16:28Friends!
16:29Money!
16:34Friends!
16:35The network preferred to do it separately, but the gang held their ground.
16:39From that moment forward, they were all paid the same,
16:42which, in seasons 9 and 10, was $1 million per episode.
16:46I just want to be married again.
16:51And I just want a million dollars!
16:56Series co-creator Marta Kaufman called that number, quote,
16:59kinda ridiculous.
17:01Number 5.
17:02Fame wasn't what David Schwimmer expected.
17:05Friends was such a huge hit from the moment it premiered,
17:08that it didn't just bring fame to its stars.
17:10It brought a mega level of fame that is hard to understand.
17:14I'm not playing tonight.
17:15Why not?
17:16I can't follow Ross.
17:20Can't even have it be like those poor bicycle-riding chimps who had to follow the Beatles.
17:24No.
17:25For David Schwimmer, it was just hard to deal with.
17:27So much so that it didn't just affect him, but his relationships with other people as well.
17:32Ross Geller?
17:34Ross Geller?
17:35Why do I know that name?
17:36It's a...
17:38Wait.
17:43Did you write this?
17:44As he told the Hollywood Reporter's podcast Awards Chatter back in 2016,
17:48quote,
17:49He was also an actor who, as part of his craft,
18:07liked to be anonymous and observe people out in the world.
18:10Well, he sure couldn't do that anymore either.
18:13Number 4.
18:14Lisa Kudrow's mental health.
18:15To fans, she was the beautiful, funny, smarter-than-you-think Phoebe.
18:20I may play the fool at times, but...
18:22I'm a little more than just a pretty blonde girl with an ass that won't quit.
18:27But when Lisa Kudrow would see herself on television,
18:30all she saw was a, quote,
18:32mountain of a girl.
18:33Kudrow discussed her body issues on Marc Maron's WTF podcast
18:36and revealed that trying to stay skinny took a physical toll on her body,
18:41telling Maron, quote,
18:42When I was too thin, I was sick all the time.
18:44So what is it? Am I hideously unattractive?
18:46No, you are not. You are very attractive.
18:49You know what? I go through the exact same thing.
18:52Every time I put on a little weight, I start questioning everything.
18:55Unfortunately, this societal pressure to be of a certain body type,
18:58many people deal with.
19:00And being rich and famous obviously doesn't make it any easier.
19:03Hey!
19:04Hey!
19:04Whoa!
19:05Wow, hello! You look great!
19:07Thank you! I know, though.
19:09Number 3.
19:10Matt LeBlanc retreated from the fame.
19:11David Schwimmer wasn't the only one who found it hard to deal with the fame.
19:15I can't believe you're nominated for an Emmy!
19:17No, no.
19:18Oh, Soap Opera Digest Award!
19:19Nope. I'm up for a soapy.
19:23Honey, is that something you're making up?
19:25Matt LeBlanc also struggled with it all,
19:28and eventually, on the verge of a nervous breakdown,
19:30needed to walk away for a while.
19:32After Friends ended and after Joey was cancelled,
19:35LeBlanc barely left his house,
19:36and basically told his agent to, quote,
19:39please lose my number for a few years.
19:41Come on!
19:41Joey!
19:42Open up! We want to talk to you!
19:44I don't feel like talking!
19:46Oh, come on, Joey! We care about you!
19:48We're worried about you!
19:50And some of us really have to pee!
19:51There's a pretty amazing silver lining in this dark cloud, though,
19:54as LeBlanc used that time away to focus his attention on his new daughter, Marina,
19:59who had been diagnosed with cortical dysplasia.
20:01Hey!
20:02Hi!
20:04How are ya?
20:06How are ya?
20:08Where are your babysitters, huh?
20:09She has since outgrown the condition,
20:11and LeBlanc has called that time they spent together, quote,
20:14the best thing I've ever done.
20:16Number 2.
20:17Monica's Fertility Issues
20:19In 2003, Courtney Cox and then-husband David Arquette
20:22announced that they had been trying to have a baby.
20:24The two of you have been trying to have a baby.
20:26You've been honest and open, and you talked to Barbara about it.
20:30That must be kind of difficult to be doing this role at the same time
20:33while having to face some of those issues surrounding it.
20:37The expectation was that Monica and Chandler would simultaneously get pregnant
20:40to resolve their love story in the last season of Friends.
20:43Instead, Cox was diagnosed with antibodies that attack fetuses,
20:47and suffered seven miscarriages.
20:49The show then dealt with the on-screen couple adopting twins
20:52after learning that they cannot conceive.
20:55Audiences found the storyline rushed, but topically valuable.
20:58While it's never been confirmed that this was a response to Cox's struggles,
21:02it was certainly an emotional challenge for the actress.
21:05She finally gave birth to Coco Arquette in 2004.
21:08She's taught me the patience.
21:11One of the biggest things she's taught me is to not take things personally.
21:14Because really, it's not about us.
21:16Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
21:20and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
21:23You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
21:27If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings
21:29and switch on notifications.
21:33Number 1. Matthew Perry
21:35Chandler Bing's actor first announced his substance use disorder in 2000.
21:49Matthew Perry had been misusing alcohol since his teens
21:51and later developed unhealthy fixations on pharmaceuticals and narcotics.
21:55He first achieved drug-free status a year after revealing his condition,
21:59which grew worse with each recurrence of substance use.
22:02He eventually started showing up to the Friends set intoxicated
22:05and experiencing visible weight fluctuations.
22:08After the show, his career was devastated by medical issues
22:11and treatments that cost him millions.
22:13They ran me into the emergency trauma room
22:19and it was in there that my colon exploded.
22:23Finally, in 2023, Perry drowned while misusing illegally over-prescribed ketamine.
22:29The loss of an artist who brought so much joy
22:32is considered one of the great tragedies of the industry.
22:35Of course, the precursor was always a harsh reality
22:38of one of TV's most beloved sitcoms.
22:40How do you hope everyone continues to celebrate Matthew's legacy?
22:43Celebrate him.
22:44What are some other Friends facts that may be hard for fans to accept?
22:47Hang out in the comments.
22:48And I thought to myself,
22:49this must be the way that normal people feel all the time.
22:53This must be the way that normal people feel all the time.
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