'F.R.I.E.N.D.S': Lisa Kudrow reveals male writers were 'brutal' to them
What's the story
Lisa Kudrow, famous for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the hit sitcom F.R.I.E.N.D.S, recently opened up about her experience on the show. In an interview with The Times of London, she revealed that there was "definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes." She said that the writing staff, who were "mostly men," could be harsh with the female actors.
Behind-the-scenes behavior
'The guys would be up late discussing their sexual fantasies'
Kudrow recalled, "If you messed up one of these writers' lines or it didn't get the perfect response...they could be like, 'Can't the bitch fucking read? She's not even trying. She fucked up my line.'" She also revealed that in the writers' room, "the guys would be up late discussing their sexual fantasies about Jennifer [Aniston] and Courteney [Cox]. It was intense." Despite this treatment, she didn't pay much attention to it as most of it happened behind closed doors.
Attitude toward criticism
'Say what you like about me behind my back...'
Kudrow described the writers' treatment of the cast as "brutal." However, she said she didn't mind it much since most of their behavior happened behind closed doors. She said, "Oh, it could be brutal, but these guys - and it was mostly men in there - were sitting up until 3am trying to write the show, so my attitude was, 'Say what you like about me behind my back because then it doesn't matter.'"
Past allegations
Similar allegations were made in the early 2000s
The behavior of the F.R.I.E.N.D.S writing team was famously exposed by Amaani Lyle in the early 2000s. Lyle, who worked on the show in 1999, sued Warner Bros. Television for the conduct in the writers' room. She alleged that the F.R.I.E.N.D.S scribes regularly made sexual and racist remarks. The case eventually reached the California Supreme Court level, which ruled against Lyle after determining that such behavior was part of a necessary work environment.