![]() '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?' she added. I would've made very different decisions,' Kauffman added, referring to the show's lack of diversity, which it was often criticized for. 'Sorry, I just wish I knew then what I know now. Because of 'Friends,' I never attained that.' 'I deeply, deeply want this connection with the Black community that I didn't have. 'What makes this truly emotional for me is that I want this connection I didn't have,' she said. ![]() The writer/producer teared up and got emotional, stating, 'I wish I knew then what I know today. ![]() Kauffman was asked during the virtual 2020 ATX TV Festival about what she 'wished she knew' when she started her career in television. The realization about the show's lack of black characters has sometimes been hard - Kauffman got emotional in 2020 while admitting that she didn't do enough to promote diversity on her hit NBC sitcom. Charlie Wheeler, a paleontology professor who ended up dating Ross in season nine. It took the show until 2002 to cast Aisha Tyler, the first black actress to become a series regular on the show, playing Dr. That was a very conscious push on my part.' 'One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian-American woman, and later I dated African-American women. ![]() 'I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color,' Schwimmer said. It comes after Schwimmer, who played Ross on the hit show, told The Guardian in an interview in 2019 that he was always pushing for diversity on 'Friends.' I knew then I needed to course-correct.' Pictured: (clockwise from left) Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani and Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay 'That was really the moment that I began to examine the ways I had participated. 'It was after what happened to George Floyd that I began to wrestle with my having bought into systematic racism in ways I was never aware of,' Kauffman told the LA Times. It's just people acknowledging it was long overdue.'Īt the time of the release of 'Friends: The Reunion', which was criticized for sidestepping the issue of the lack of diverse roles, Kauffman's perspective on diversity started to shift. I've gotten a lot of 'It's about time.' Not in a mean way. 'I've gotten a flood of emails and texts and posts that have been nothing but supportive. It surprised me to some extent, because I didn't expect the news to go this wide. Since the announcement of the donation, Kauffman told the Los Angeles Times: 'I've gotten nothing but love. Charlie Wheeler, a paleontology professor who ended up dating Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) in season nine. And this seemed to me to be a way that I could participate in the conversation from a white woman's perspective.' It took the show until 2002 to cast Aisha Tyler, the first black actress to become a series regular on the show, playing Dr. 'It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic racism,' Kauffman told Brandeis. 'I've been working really hard to become an ally, an anti-racist. The donation will also help the department to recruit more expert scholars and teachers, map long-term academic and research priorities and provide new opportunities for students to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship, the university said. Kauffman '78 Professorship in African and African American Studies will support a distinguished scholar with a concentration in the study of the peoples and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora. What can I say? I wish Lisa was black?' Kauffman told The Hollywood Reporter prior to the airing of the 'Friends: The Reunion' special.īut now, Kauffman is pledging $4 million to Brandeis University to promote the study of African American studies. 'I would have been insane not to hire those six actors. ![]() Kauffman said she regrets making the six main characters all white - but is still happy that Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry were all part of the series.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |