Current Events > Here's Your Reminder That 'Friends' Was Really, Really Homophobic

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FreezerDoor 10/03/19 4:22:44 PM #1:	https://www.out.com/television/2019/10/01/heres-your-reminder-friends-was-really-really-homophobic But even as the show shaped what television is, not all of the 85 hours of Friends has held up well. As a recent news item involving a squashed gay-themed storyline reminds us, Friends is still really, really homophobic. According to a newly published look behind the scenes of the smash sitcom, Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show that Defined a Television Era, the shows writers pitched a B-plot in which Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) sneaks into a gay bar, not for the queer camraderie or the love of ABBA songs but because he likes the establishments tuna melts. Perry said no, and the story was shelved, writes author Saul Austerlitz, as the U.K. newspaper The Independent first reported. While Austerlitz doesnt comment on the tone of the one-off storyline, its hard to imagine the scene would have gone well. The male characters on Friends showed a noted discomfort and disdain toward LGBTQ+ people during its 10 seasons from Chandlers aversion to his transgender parent (played by Kathleen Turner, still slaying the role) to a particular episode in which Ross (David Schwimmer) insists his male nanny must be gay. Nearly anytime LGBTQ+ people are brought up through the show, its played for laughs whether its the running joke that people think Chandler is gay or an episode where Joey (Matt Leblanc) convinces an acting student who he is competing for a role on All My Children to play the character homosexually. In perhaps the most on-the-nose depiction of its tendency toward gay panic for cheap laughs, Joey and Ross freak out in the seventh season of Friends after they accidentally fall asleep together on the couch. What happened? Ross screams, before insisting: We fell asleep that is all. The apparently traumatic cuddle is so integral to the episodes arc that the installment is literally called The One With The Nap Partners. While it would be easy to dismiss Friends as a product of its time, many of its contemporaries were well ahead on LGBTQ+ representation from Blanche (Rue McClanahan) learning to embrace her gay brother on The Golden Girls to the groundbreaking same-sex wedding in Roseanne. To its credit, Friends did air a lesbian wedding, between Carol (Jane Sibbett) and Susan (Jessica Hecht), but it primarily served to underscore how uncomfortable Ross was with his ex-wifes new relationship. In addition to notoriously not allowing the newlyweds to kiss in fear of upsetting censors the episode also featured Chandler propositioning a lesbian wedding guest, and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) blurting out, Now Ive seen everything! during the ceremony. --- Edmonton Oilers winning a draft is like giving a homeless person money but knowing they are going to spend it on drugs and alcohol- Xunolix <cite>FreezerDoor posted [p:928290741] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>https://www.out.com/television/2019/10/01/heres-your-reminder-friends-was-really-really-homophobic But even as the show shaped what television is, not all of the 85 hours of Friends has held up well. As a recent news item involving a squashed gay-themed storyline reminds us, Friends is still really, really homophobic. According to a newly published look behind the scenes of the smash sitcom, Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show that Defined a Television Era, the shows writers pitched a B-plot in which Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) sneaks into a gay bar, not for the queer camraderie or the love of ABBA songs but because he likes the establishments tuna melts. Perry said no, and the story was shelved, writes author Saul Austerlitz, as the U.K. newspaper The Independent first reported. While Austerlitz doesnt comment on the tone of the one-off storyline, its hard to imagine the scene would have gone well. The male characters on Friends showed a noted discomfort and disdain toward LGBTQ+ people during its 10 seasons from Chandlers aversion to his transgender parent (played by Kathleen Turner, still slaying the role) to a particular episode in which Ross (David Schwimmer) insists his male nanny must be gay. Nearly anytime LGBTQ+ people are brought up through the show, its played for laughs whether its the running joke that people think Chandler is gay or an episode where Joey (Matt Leblanc) convinces an acting student who he is competing for a role on All My Children to play the character homosexually. In perhaps the most on-the-nose depiction of its tendency toward gay panic for cheap laughs, Joey and Ross freak out in the seventh season of Friends after they accidentally fall asleep together on the couch. What happened? Ross screams, before insisting: We fell asleep that is all. The apparently traumatic cuddle is so integral to the episodes arc that the installment is literally called The One With The Nap Partners. While it would be easy to dismiss Friends as a product of its time, many of its contemporaries were well ahead on LGBTQ+ representation from Blanche (Rue McClanahan) learning to embrace her gay brother on The Golden Girls to the groundbreaking same-sex wedding in Roseanne. To its credit, Friends did air a lesbian wedding, between Carol (Jane Sibbett) and Susan (Jessica Hecht), but it primarily served to underscore how uncomfortable Ross was with his ex-wifes new relationship. In addition to notoriously not allowing the newlyweds to kiss in fear of upsetting censors the episode also featured Chandler propositioning a lesbian wedding guest, and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) blurting out, Now Ive seen everything! during the ceremony. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
ThePrinceFish 10/03/19 4:24:31 PM #2:	Remember back in the 90s when Friends was a progressive show rather than a bigoted homophobic racist show --- Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say 'Golly gee, I can't do that" Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? <cite>ThePrinceFish posted [p:928290837] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Remember back in the 90s when Friends was a progressive show rather than a bigoted homophobic racist show</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
s0nicfan 10/03/19 4:24:42 PM #3:	Does that website have an analysis of Always Sunny in Philadelphia? --- "History Is Much Like An Endless Waltz. The Three Beats Of War, Peace And Revolution Continue On Forever." - Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz <cite>s0nicfan posted [p:928290847] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Does that website have an analysis of Always Sunny in Philadelphia? </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Hanky_Bannister 10/03/19 4:24:52 PM #4:	oh no! you guys really didnt live in the 90s i guess --- "3rd Best Whiskey in Northern Burma" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvjOu4EzjYg <cite>Hanky_Bannister posted [p:928290854] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>oh no! you guys really didnt live in the 90s i guess</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
hockeybub89 10/03/19 4:26:42 PM #5:	s0nicfan posted... Does that website have an analysis of Always Sunny in Philadelphia? But everyone on Sunny is supposed to be a horrendous asshole. --- http://card.psnprofiles.com/1/NIR_Hockey.png http://www.last.fm/user/hockeybub89/ <cite>hockeybub89 posted [p:928290949] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>s0nicfan posted...</cite> <quote>Does that website have an analysis of Always Sunny in Philadelphia? </quote> But everyone on Sunny is supposed to be a horrendous asshole.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
BLAKUboy 10/03/19 4:27:09 PM #6:	and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) blurting out, Now Ive seen everything! during the ceremony. Wasn't she possessed by the ghost of some old lady, who immediately left as soon as "Phoebe" said that? --- Aeris dies if she takes more damage than her current HP - Panthera https://signavatar.com/26999_s.png <cite>BLAKUboy posted [p:928290965] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote><quote>and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) blurting out, Now Ive seen everything! during the ceremony. </quote> Wasn't she possessed by the ghost of some old lady, who immediately left as soon as "Phoebe" said that?</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
GoodOlJr 10/03/19 4:27:43 PM #7:	Yeah I always watch 5 minutes of gay porn between friends episodes to balance things out --- http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3475/3291766630_b434e97925.jpg 3DS: 1005-8921-6109 <cite>GoodOlJr posted [p:928290987] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Yeah I always watch 5 minutes of gay porn between friends episodes to balance things out </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
The Trent 10/03/19 4:28:31 PM #8:	if it was funny maybe i'd be okay with it --- i swear to God most of y'all cats just don't know The Trent you barely know yourself so i guess most of y'all should be offended <cite>The Trent posted [p:928291022] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>if it was funny maybe i'd be okay with it</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
AngelsNAirwav3s 10/03/19 4:28:42 PM #9:	That article seems like a satire... --- Hello world! <cite>AngelsNAirwav3s posted [p:928291029] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>That article seems like a satire...</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Doom_Art 10/03/19 4:28:42 PM #10:	ThePrinceFish posted... Remember back in the 90s when Friends was a progressive show rather than a bigoted homophobic racist show It's almost like society has changed in the last 25 years or something --- Not removing this until Mega Man 64 is released on the Wii Virtual Console. Started on: 12/1/2009 https://imgur.com/mPvcy <cite>Doom_Art posted [p:928291030] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>ThePrinceFish posted... </cite> <quote>Remember back in the 90s when Friends was a progressive show rather than a bigoted homophobic racist show</quote>It's almost like society has changed in the last 25 years or something </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
The Trent 10/03/19 4:29:06 PM #11:	Doom_Art posted... ThePrinceFish posted... Remember back in the 90s when Friends was a progressive show rather than a bigoted homophobic racist show It's almost like society has changed in the last 25 years or something context is fucking wack --- i swear to God most of y'all cats just don't know The Trent you barely know yourself so i guess most of y'all should be offended <cite>The Trent posted [p:928291048] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Doom_Art posted...</cite> <quote>ThePrinceFish posted... </cite> <quote>Remember back in the 90s when Friends was a progressive show rather than a bigoted homophobic racist show</quote>It's almost like society has changed in the last 25 years or something </quote> context is fucking wack</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
ThePrinceFish 10/03/19 4:29:22 PM #12:	Doom_Art posted... ThePrinceFish posted... Remember back in the 90s when Friends was a progressive show rather than a bigoted homophobic racist show It's almost like society has changed in the last 25 years or something Gee it's almost like that was my point --- Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say 'Golly gee, I can't do that" Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? <cite>ThePrinceFish posted [p:928291062] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Doom_Art posted...</cite> <quote>ThePrinceFish posted... </cite> <quote>Remember back in the 90s when Friends was a progressive show rather than a bigoted homophobic racist show</quote>It's almost like society has changed in the last 25 years or something </quote> Gee it's almost like that was my point</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
s0nicfan 10/03/19 4:29:27 PM #13:	hockeybub89 posted... But everyone on Sunny is supposed to be a horrendous asshole. I know, but I wouldn't expect the kind of people to write the stuff in the OP to have that level of awareness. --- "History Is Much Like An Endless Waltz. The Three Beats Of War, Peace And Revolution Continue On Forever." - Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz <cite>s0nicfan posted [p:928291068] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>hockeybub89 posted... </cite> <quote>But everyone on Sunny is supposed to be a horrendous asshole.</quote> I know, but I wouldn't expect the kind of people to write the stuff in the OP to have that level of awareness. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Questionmarktarius 10/03/19 4:29:43 PM #14:	Friends went downhill after it got rid of the monkey. <cite>Questionmarktarius posted [p:928291087] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Friends went downhill after it got rid of the monkey.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
eston 10/03/19 4:29:46 PM #15:	ThePrinceFish posted... Remember back in the 90s when Friends was a progressive show rather than a bigoted homophobic racist show Yeah it really seems like a testament to how homophobic 90's pop culture was in general. This show was considered fairly progressive --- http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i215/estonc/grizzly_bear_chairs_2.jpg https://imgur.com/8kjZU <cite>eston posted [p:928291088] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>ThePrinceFish posted...</cite> <quote>Remember back in the 90s when Friends was a progressive show rather than a bigoted homophobic racist show</quote> Yeah it really seems like a testament to how homophobic 90's pop culture was in general. This show was considered fairly progressive</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Doom_Art 10/03/19 4:30:04 PM #16:	ThePrinceFish posted... Gee it's almost like that was my point you phrased it like it was a surprise and a problem --- Not removing this until Mega Man 64 is released on the Wii Virtual Console. Started on: 12/1/2009 https://imgur.com/mPvcy <cite>Doom_Art posted [p:928291105] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>ThePrinceFish posted... </cite> <quote>Gee it's almost like that was my point</quote>you phrased it like it was a surprise and a problem </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
ThePrinceFish 10/03/19 4:30:53 PM #17:	Doom_Art posted... ThePrinceFish posted... Gee it's almost like that was my point you phrased it like it was a surprise and a problem I don't really give a shit how you took my post, Doom_Art. --- Dielman on Rivers: "I've tried to get him to say s--- or f--- and all he'll ever do is say 'Golly gee, I can't do that" Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? <cite>ThePrinceFish posted [p:928291142] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Doom_Art posted...</cite> <quote>ThePrinceFish posted... </cite> <quote>Gee it's almost like that was my point</quote>you phrased it like it was a surprise and a problem </quote> I don't really give a shit how you took my post, Doom_Art.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Doom_Art 10/03/19 4:31:23 PM #18:	uh oh someone's upset --- Not removing this until Mega Man 64 is released on the Wii Virtual Console. Started on: 12/1/2009 https://imgur.com/mPvcy <cite>Doom_Art posted [p:928291160] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>uh oh someone's upset </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
RdVEHfJqAvUPIbk 10/03/19 4:31:29 PM #19:	lol garbo journalist makes a clickbait article more at 11 --- https://i.imgtc.ws/ZSMkmi1.jpg <cite>RdVEHfJqAvUPIbk posted [p:928291166] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>lol garbo journalist makes a clickbait article more at 11</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
konokonohamaru 10/03/19 4:31:50 PM #20:	Not clicking. Don't drive outrage culture --- A very happy young man looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. <cite>konokonohamaru posted [p:928291188] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Not clicking. Don't drive outrage culture</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
Romulox28 10/03/19 4:31:55 PM #21:	i fail to see how any of those situations in the OP are homophobic, it's like the writer has never lived in the real world before --- https://imgur.com/LhwwG <cite>Romulox28 posted [p:928291191] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>i fail to see how any of those situations in the OP are homophobic, it's like the writer has never lived in the real world before </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
UnfairRepresent 10/03/19 4:32:01 PM #22:	Didn't married with children have an episode were a gay guy took peggy dancing and his husband had to beg Al to help him get him back? Then Al wanted to dump peggy and live with the gay guy --- ^ Hey now that's completely unfair! https://imgtc.com/i/bHqCLJF.png https://i.imgtc.com/YnvkpvU.png <cite>UnfairRepresent posted [p:928291194] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Didn't married with children have an episode were a gay guy took peggy dancing and his husband had to beg Al to help him get him back? Then Al wanted to dump peggy and live with the gay guy</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
hockeybub89 10/03/19 4:32:12 PM #23:	No one would get upset if people didn't find jokes about 1890s current events funny in current day, but apparently you aren't allowed stop finding dated jokes funny if they are really offensive in current day. They start calling you a "SJW" and shit. --- http://card.psnprofiles.com/1/NIR_Hockey.png http://www.last.fm/user/hockeybub89/ <cite>hockeybub89 posted [p:928291204] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>No one would get upset if people didn't find jokes about 1890s current events funny in current day, but apparently you aren't allowed stop finding dated jokes funny if they are really offensive in current day. They start calling you a "SJW" and shit.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
The-19th-Sparta 10/03/19 4:34:20 PM #24:	Remember when this topic gets posted at least a few times a year by other similar SJW-lite posters? Who cares, it's an old show from a different time. --- #40 Henrik Zetterberg \| #55 Niklas Kronwall Thanks for everything boys. <cite>The-19th-Sparta posted [p:928291310] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Remember when this topic gets posted at least a few times a year by other similar SJW-lite posters? Who cares, it's an old show from a different time.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
DyingPancake 10/03/19 4:36:11 PM #25:	Dont care Some of the funniest moments were these homophobic ones --- Pine State milk <cite>DyingPancake posted [p:928291369] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Dont care Some of the funniest moments were these homophobic ones</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
s0nicfan 10/03/19 4:36:37 PM #26:	hockeybub89 posted... No one would get upset if people didn't find jokes about 1890s current events funny in current day, but apparently you aren't allowed stop finding dated jokes funny if they are really offensive in current day. They start calling you a "SJW" and shit. If all the author said was that the show hasn't aged well because the jokes are dated, there would be no controversy, but you know that already. --- "History Is Much Like An Endless Waltz. The Three Beats Of War, Peace And Revolution Continue On Forever." - Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz <cite>s0nicfan posted [p:928291387] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>hockeybub89 posted... </cite> <quote>No one would get upset if people didn't find jokes about 1890s current events funny in current day, but apparently you aren't allowed stop finding dated jokes funny if they are really offensive in current day. They start calling you a "SJW" and shit.</quote> If all the author said was that the show hasn't aged well because the jokes are dated, there would be no controversy, but you know that already. </quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
DeadBankerDream 10/03/19 4:36:53 PM #27:	Their first piece of evidence is a scrapped storyline about Chandler going to a gay bar and... that's it. --- "Your mother was a broken down tub of junk with more gentlemen callers than the operator." <cite>DeadBankerDream posted [p:928291393] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Their first piece of evidence is a scrapped storyline about Chandler going to a gay bar and... that's it.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
HylianFox 10/03/19 4:41:09 PM #28:	Joey and Chandler should have banged that's all I'll say --- I like my beer cold, my TV loud, and my homosexuals FUH-LAMING! - Homer Simpson Don't be a turd. - Chris Pratt <cite>HylianFox posted [p:928291580] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Joey and Chandler should have banged that's all I'll say</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
AsucaHayashi 10/03/19 4:42:38 PM #29:	let's see the writer hiring a male nanny for his infant then if he's so progressive. --- http://abload.de/img/pcgamingxtuvt.jpg https://imgur.com/9Yv0R2Z <cite>AsucaHayashi posted [p:928291641] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>let's see the writer hiring a male nanny for his infant then if he's so progressive.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
#30	Post #30 was unavailable or deleted.
AnimeFan462 10/03/19 5:03:30 PM #31:	Nah, its a good show. --- Now Playing: Borderlands 3, Zelda Link's Awakening Remake, Atelier Lydie & Suelle, Atelier Lulua, and Mario Maker 2 Now Watching: Kimetsu No Yaiba <cite>AnimeFan462 posted [p:928292562] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>Nah, its a good show.</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
hockeybub89 10/03/19 5:19:25 PM #32:	s0nicfan posted... hockeybub89 posted... No one would get upset if people didn't find jokes about 1890s current events funny in current day, but apparently you aren't allowed stop finding dated jokes funny if they are really offensive in current day. They start calling you a "SJW" and shit. If all the author said was that the show hasn't aged well because the jokes are dated, there would be no controversy, but you know that already. They are homophobic because they are dated. Black people used to be the butt of jokes. Is it wrong to call those types of jokes racist because society didn't consider them racist then? You can say a joke falls flat after the passage of time, but not why it falls flat? --- http://card.psnprofiles.com/1/NIR_Hockey.png http://www.last.fm/user/hockeybub89/ <cite>hockeybub89 posted [p:928293237] in Here's... [t:78060850]...</cite> <quote>s0nicfan posted...</cite> <quote>hockeybub89 posted... </cite> <quote>No one would get upset if people didn't find jokes about 1890s current events funny in current day, but apparently you aren't allowed stop finding dated jokes funny if they are really offensive in current day. They start calling you a "SJW" and shit.</quote> If all the author said was that the show hasn't aged well because the jokes are dated, there would be no controversy, but you know that already. </quote> They are homophobic because they are dated. Black people used to be the butt of jokes. Is it wrong to call those types of jokes racist because society didn't consider them racist then? You can say a joke falls flat after the passage of time, but not why it falls flat?</quote> ... Copied to Clipboard!
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Current Events > Here's Your Reminder That 'Friends' Was Really, Really Homophobic (+) Yeah! (+)

Current Events > Here's Your Reminder That 'Friends' Was Really, Really Homophobic