‘Friends’ Co-Creator Marta Kauffman Finally Owns Up to ‘Mistake’ in Misgendering Chandler’s Transgender Mom
thewrap.comthe Huffington Post. “Pronouns were not yet something that I understood, so we didn’t refer to that character as ‘she’. That was a mistake.”In addition to addressing the lack of inclusive language on “Friends,” Kauffman has also recently expressed regret over the lack of diversity throughout the series. “Friends” — which starred Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer — had no nonwhite characters in its main ensemble.
The long-running ’90s sitcom continues to dominate the zeitgeist thanks to streaming, syndication and era-specific nostalgia.In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, the television writer said she began understanding the criticism directed at her series today, particularly following the waves of Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.“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,” Kauffman said. “That was really the moment that I began to examine the ways I had participated.
