David Schwimmer Apologizes After Facing Backlash for Recent 'Friends' Comments About Lack of Diversity

It looks like Ross isn’t fine after all.

Last week, Friends star David Schwimmer stated in an interview that instead of reviving the sitcom, which he admitted had a big problem with diversity, he pitched that NBC create an “all-black" or "all-Asian" version of the show.

Us Weekly reports that this statement was met with serious criticism on Twitter. Many dragged the Ross Geller actor for not acknowledging that Friends was basically a white-washed knock-off of Living Single, which aired in 1992 and had an African American cast. Actor Erika Alexander called Schwimmer out on his comment, tweeting, "Hey @DavidSchwimmer @FriendsTV⁩ – r u seriously telling me you’ve never heard of #LivingSingle? We invented the template! Yr welcome bro. ;).”

The Laundromat star has now responded to the backlash in a lengthy reply to Alexander, writing:

“As you know, I was asked recently in an interview for The Guardian how I felt (for the thousandth time) about a reboot of Friends immediately following a conversation about diversity on the show, and so offered up other possibilities for a reimagining of the show today. I didn’t mean to imply Living Single hadn’t existed or indeed hadn’t come before Friends, which I knew it had.”

The 53-year-old actor continued:

“I was a fan of Living Single, and was not implying Friends was the first of its kind. To my knowledge, Friends (which came out a year later) was inspired by [series creators] Marta [Kaufmann] & David [Crane]’s own lives and circle of friends living in NY in their twenties. If it was based on Living Single you’d have to ask them. It’s entirely possible that Warner Brothers and NBC, encouraged by the success of Living Single, gave the Friends pilot a green light. I honestly don’t know, but seems likely! If that’s the case, we are all indebted to Living Single for paving the way.”

He concluded his letter with an apology, posting, “In any event, if my quote was taken out of context, it’s hardly in my control. I assure you I meant no disrespect.”

Will fans and followers forgive Schwimmer, or will they need a break? I guess only time will tell.