'Friends' Co-Creator Reveals the Jokes She Regrets From the Show

Friends has been hugely influential since its premiere in 1994, not only achieving immense popularity at the time but also cementing a spot as one of the most binge-worthy TV shows out there. But one of the series’ creators, Marta Kauffman, has expressed regret about certain jokes the show made that, in retrospect, they would have done differently.

According to Buzz.ie, Kauffman said in an interview that she would have changed the show’s depiction of gender nonconforming individuals, most notably Chandler (Matthew Perry)’s father. “I think we didn’t have the knowledge about transgender people back then, so I’m not sure if we used the appropriate terms,” she said, adding that, “I don’t know if I would have known those terms back then. I think that’s the biggest one.”

In the 2001 episode “The One With Chandler’s Dad,” Chandler’s father, known as Charles Bing or Helena Handbasket, is revealed to be a “drag queen,” and is played by actress Kathleen Turner. Though the show does not refer to the character as transgender, this might be the term used for the character now.

Kauffman also said that she would have taken a different approach with Will Colbert (Brad Pitt), a character who appears in the 2001 episode “The One With the Rumor” who had previously spread a rumor in high school that Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) was a “hermaphrodite.” In contemporary terms, such a person would be called intersex, and it would be considered a cruel joke.

“I might have not done the hermaphrodite stuff today if I had that to do over in the one with Brad Pitt,” she said, according to Buzz.ie. “It really is a period piece.”

If you ask us, it’s good that Kauffman is willing to revisit the moments from Friends that haven’t aged very well--it helps us remember what a great show it was while also seeing how it could’ve been better.