Jennifer Aniston says she is well aware that some of today's viewers take issue with the sitcom "Friends."
"There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of 'Friends' and find them offensive,” the Emmy winner, 54, told AFP in Paris.
Aniston starred as Rachel Green in the hit NBC comedy, which aired for 10 seasons from 1994 until 2004. In recent years, the show has been criticized for its lack of diversity. It's also been called out for dialogue and storylines that some viewers deem sexist, homophobic and fat-shaming.
“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," said Aniston.
Aniston, who stars alongside Adam Sandler in Netflix’s upcoming caper “Murder Mystery 2,” said comedians today are operating in a “tricky” landscape.
“Comedy has evolved, movies have evolved,” said the actor. “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.”
In the past, TV shows “could joke about a bigot" and audiences would laugh, said Aniston. “And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were. And now we’re not allowed to do that.”
The SAG Award winner also expressed disappointment that Hollywood isn’t producing as many comedy movies as it once did.
“Everybody needs funny! The world needs humor!” she said. “We can’t take ourselves too seriously. Especially in the United States. Everyone is far too divided.”
"Friends" co-creator Marta Kauffman addressed the show's lack of diversity — even taking blame for it herself — during an appearance at the virtual 2020 ATX Festival.
“I mean, we’ve always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn’t do enough and now all I can think about is what can I do? What can I do differently? How can I run my show in a new way?” said Kauffman.
Kauffman, who went on to co-create Netflix's wildly popular "Grace and Frankie," added, "“And that’s something I not only wish I knew when I started showrunning, but I wish I knew all the way up through last year."