Jennifer Aniston Says The ‘World Needs Humor’ As ‘Whole Generation’ Finds Friends Offensive

Jennifer Aniston pictured at the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles in January 2020. Shutterstock

Jennifer Aniston, an actress, spoke out in response to the younger generations who find her show "Friends" objectionable when viewed through a modern lens.

The 54-year-old actress talked about how comedy in TV and movies has changed during an interview for her most recent picture, "Murder Mystery 2." 

She acknowledged that things had "evolved" since she started her job, but lamented the increased "sensitivity" since her time on "Friends," which ran from 1994 to 2004.

She said:

"There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of ‘Friends’ and find them offensive,"

"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."

Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green in Friends. Warner Bros

These comments came after executive producer David Bright and co-creator Marta Kauffman both criticized the show's absence of diversity and politically correct humor in the years following its 2004 end.

In June of last year, Kauffman apologized for the show's lack of Black actors and made a $4 million pledge to Brandeis University's African and African American Studies program.

Talking to Page Six in an interview Kauffman said:

"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? And that’s something I not only wish I knew when I started show running, but I wish I knew all the way up through last year,"

Warner Bros

In 2021, Bright stated to the Hollywood Reporter, "If we did ‘Friends’ today, no, I don't imagine they would probably end up being an all-white cast." 

Aniston lamented the fact that humor today calls for actors and comedians to "be very careful" when telling jokes in other parts of her discussion.

"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," Aniston added. 

"[In the past] you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were. And now we’re not allowed to do that."

She insisted

"Everybody needs funny! The world needs humor! We can't take ourselves too seriously. Especially in the United States. Everyone is far too divided."

She also mentioned that there's a fine line between what's funny and what's inappropriate, and it's up to the audience to decide where that line is. 

She emphasized the importance of considering the context and intent behind a joke before getting offended and called for more compassion and understanding in the world of comedy.

The transgender parent of Chandler Bing's character, who was referred to as Bing's "father" on the show, was misgendered, and Kauffman issued an apology on behalf of the show in July.

"Pronouns were not yet something that I understood," Kauffman said. "So we didn't refer to that character as 'she.' That was a mistake."