Jennifer Aniston has admitted that some episodes of Friends haven’t aged too well, as a whole new generation of viewers discovers the iconic comedy on streaming services.
The US show has faced criticism from some younger viewers over certain aspects of the show, including some problematic scenes and the show’s lack of diversity, which the Rachel Green actor appears to have acknowledged in a new interview.
Jennifer, who starred alongside Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and Matthew Perry in the show from 1994 and 2004, says some aspects of the show could have been “better thought through”.
In an interview with the Associated Foreign Press via Yahoo, Jennifer 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.”
The 54-year-old actor, who is on the promo trail for her new comedy Murder Mystery 2 with Adam Sandler, added that she wishes we could laugh more at ourselves, rather than having to police every word on screen.
“Comedy has evolved, movies have evolved,” she said.
“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.
“[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.”
Earlier this month, Jen was reunited with a former Friends co-star - 27 years after they first met.
As a child actor, Mae Whitman appeared in the 1996 episode The One Where Rachel Quits as Sarah, a girl scout that Ross accidentally knocks down some stairs, breaking her arm.
While she and Jen never actually shared any scenes together in the episode, she revealed just how much the Morning Show star took her under her wing when they crossed paths again, backstage at Live With Kelly And Ryan.
In a behind-the-scenes clip posted on the show’s Instagram account, Mae told a stunned Jen: “I just wanted to say hi because you were so kind to me. It was my favourite show, and you really made me feel like I was a part of the cast.
“And you were so kind and you hugged me. Thank you. It’s always stayed with me.”