Courteney Cox has seen a lot of success since her iconic role as Monica Geller in Friends. Despite her discomfort watching herself on the show and lack of recall during filming, the sitcom led to additional iconic roles in the Scream franchise as Gale Weathers and Jules Cobb in Cougar Town. However, prior to Friends’ massive success, Cox starred in a banned promotional clip for the series that sparked controversy.
The reason why Friends Commercial was Banned
In 1994, Friends aired a comedic commercial featuring Cox and her co-stars Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, and Matt LeBlanc joking about boosting ratings by wearing their underwear. The Scream star initially declined to disrobe in the clip, but upon learning of the show’s prime time slot, she promptly asks LeBlanc to unzip her dress.
The Friends commercial from 1994 may seem harmless, but it highlights how societal norms have changed in the past 28 years. During the show’s 2021 reunion, fans slammed the show for being lacking in diversity and aging poorly.
Director Ben Winston addressed the issue, telling The Sunday Times: “We have Malala, Mindy Kaling, BTS [the South Korean boy band]. There are three women from Ghana, one who talks about how Friends saved her life. Two boys from Kenya. Three kids in India. What more diversity do they want in this reunion? The cast is the cast. It was made in 1994. I think it’s remarkable how well it does stand the test of time.”
Executive producer Kevin Bright acknowledged that the all-white cast was not intentional and added that the focus was on the chemistry between the six actors. Lisa Kudrow also commented on the backlash, stating that the creators of the show had no right to write about the experiences of people of color.
via – thethings
