Zoë Kravitz Slams Friends And Says The 90s Sitcom Is Too 'Wild' To Work Today

Zoë Kravitz has been very outspoken about how she feels toward Friends.

The show, which first hit screens in the 1990s, is still considered one of the most popular sitcoms ever made.

Its humor, iconic moments, and beloved cast gave it a long-lasting appeal that even carried into the streaming era when it was added to Netflix in 2015.

By 2018, Friends had become the second most-streamed show on the platform, proving its staying power across different generations of viewers.

Fans were left disappointed in 2020 when the sitcom was removed from Netflix after WarnerMedia’s licensing deal came to an end. Now, all 200+ episodes can be streamed on HBO Max, which holds the rights to the show.

Despite its continued success, many have pointed out that parts of Friends haven’t aged well, with some storylines and jokes now being seen as outdated. One of those critics is Zoë Kravitz.

While promoting her latest film Caught Stealing, which she stars in alongside Austin Butler, Kravitz has been asked about the 90s setting of the movie and reflected on both the highlights and the low points of that era.

Zoe Kravitz's new movie is set in the 1990s TheStewartofNY/FilmMagic

The film is rooted in 90s culture, and both Kravitz and Butler shared their thoughts on the decade during a recent interview.

"[I'm] really nostalgic for that time," Kravitz admitted to PEOPLE while discussing the era. "Then also the fashion, all that stuff's so cool. New York City and the grunge."

Butler agreed, chiming in with his own nostalgic memory: "Even just being in the apartment [on set] and seeing the Nintendo 64 on top of the TV. We had the GoldenEye [video game], I saw that."

Butler also noted how much he misses a time before smartphones became such a constant part of daily life.

However, Kravitz also pointed out the negative aspects of the 90s. Reflecting on Friends, she said: "Super homophobic jokes on mainstream television. If you watch Friends now, you're like, 'Whoa, that's...'."

Butler was taken aback that such jokes made it into the show, but Kravitz simply responded: "Oh, so much in Friends. Like, things that aren't punchlines are punchlines. It's wild. So maybe that? We can keep that there."

Butler then added that he thinks society should “keep that in the 90s” and move forward.

Interestingly, even the show’s own creators have admitted that there are parts of Friends that they would approach very differently if they were writing it today.

Friends aired for the first time in 1994 Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Back in 2019, co-creator Marta Kauffman spoke to USA Today about the show’s legacy and admitted: "Every time I watch an episode, there's something I wish I could have changed."

She continued her reflection by saying: "Like, how did we leave that joke in there? Or, really, that storyline? That's what we went with?"

When asked how Friends might look if it were being created in the modern day, she shared her thoughts.

"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 explained, before adding: "I don't know if I would have known those terms back then. I think that's the biggest one."