‘Friends’ co-creator Marta Kauffman ‘embarrassed’ over show’s lack of diversity

(From left) Friends stars Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc (Image: Warner Bros via ETX Daily Up)

“Friends” co-creator Marta Kauffman admitted she is “embarrassed” over the lack of diversity in the hit 1990s sitcom, as she hoped to “make some difference” by pledging $4 million (around P221 million) for African American studies.

The American TV writer-producer recalled that she was once bothered by the criticisms on the show, as per her interview with Los Angeles Times last Wednesday, June 29. At the time, she thought “Friends” was being “unfairly singled out” for the near-absence of Black characters and other people of color.

Now, Kauffman says she understands the criticisms about “Friends” and believes they are fair. She came to realize this after the death of Black man George Floyd, who died in the hands of the police.

“I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years. Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy,” she was quoted as saying. “It’s painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know better 25 years ago.”

Given this, Kauffman decided to pledge $4 million to the African American studies department of her alma mater, Brandeis University in Massachusetts. This will allow the department to recruit more experts and teachers, plan research priorities, and provide students with an opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship, among others.

According to Kauffman, she has “gotten nothing but love” since her pledge was announced.

“I’ve gotten a flood of emails and texts and posts that have been nothing but supportive,” she said in the interview. “I’ve gotten a lot of ‘It’s about time.’ Not in a mean way. It’s just people acknowledging it was long overdue.”

As for criticisms on the show’s 2021 HBO Max special “Friends: The Reunion” and its failure to address the representation issue, Kauffman said she did not think the reunion was the appropriate way to talk about the matter.

“I don’t know how the two were related. And I also don’t know how we could have addressed it in that context of that reunion, going into all the things we did wrong. And there were others,” she was quoted as saying.

Aside from her pledge, Kauffman also vowed to “act differently from now on” and push for more diversity in her future projects.

“I feel I was finally able to make some difference in the conversation. I have to say, after agreeing to this and when I stopped sweating, it didn’t unburden me, but it lifted me up,” she said. “[…] I want to make sure from now on in every production I do that I am conscious in hiring people of color and actively pursue young writers of color.”

Meanwhile, Kauffman is not the only “Friends” alum who has spoken up on issues on diversity within the show.

Cast member David Schwimmer, who plays Ross Geller, said in a 2020 interview with The Guardian that he was “well aware of the lack of diversity.” He added that he even pushed for his character to start dating women of color.

“Friends” ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. It stars Schwimmer, Courteney Cox (Monica), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel), Matthew Perry (Chandler), Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe) and Matt LeBlanc (Joey).  /ra

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