Jennifer Aniston Says Comedy Has Evolved and Some Today Find Friends Offensive
Jennifer Aniston is speaking out about the current state of comedy and how the arts are becoming "tricky" for comedians.
In an interview with AFP in Paris while promoting Murder Mystery 2, Aniston said that comedy and movies have evolved.
"Now it's a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it really hard for comedians," she said.
"Because the beauty of comedy is that we make fun of ourselves, make fun of life."
The star spoke about Friends, which propelled her and her costars to worldwide stardom.
"There's a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find them offensive," she said of the series.
"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."
Aniston said that the key to comedy is not taking ourselves seriously.
"Everybody needs funny! The world needs humor!" she added.
"We can't take ourselves too seriously. Especially in the United States. Everyone is far too divided."
Friends was a huge success, running for 10 seasons and spawning a spinoff, but the show has been criticized for its all-white cast.
Series co-creator Marta Kauffman opened up about the lack of diversity on the show in 2022.
"It was after what happened to George Floyd that I began to wrestle with my having bought into systemic racism in ways I was never aware of," said Kauffman to the Los Angeles Times.
"That was really the moment that I began to examine the ways I had participated. I knew then I needed to course-correct."
"I want to make sure from now on in every production I do that I am conscious in hiring people of color and actively pursue young writers of color."
"I want to know I will act differently from now on."
In a 2021 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kauffman, David Crane, and Kevin Bright, said that if the series was made in today's world, it would be different.
"If we did Friends today, no, I don't imagine they would probably end up being an all-white cast," Bright said.
"We would be so aware," he added.
"So much would change, but to get them to behave realistically within this time, there would be a lot that would change about them."
"And the racial makeup of them would change because of that."