Friends actress Aisha Tyler has revealed her experiences as one of the only black cast members as the iconic sitcom celebrates its 30-year anniversary.
Tyler, 53, who was the only black actress to have a repeating role on the show, first appeared in season nine in 2003.
She played Charlie Wheeler, the paleontology professor girlfriend of Ross Geller, David Schwimmers quirky character. Before she ended up with Ross, she went on a few dates with Joey Tribbiani, famously played by Matt LeBlanc.
But when the cameras werent rolling, Tyler faced the reality of the striking lack of diversity on the show and in the television industry.
The former Talk Soup host said that she often heard people shouting out black girl from Friends when they saw her, according to The Independent.
Tyler said that Schwimmer, who co-directed the show, made efforts to diversify the cast
Tyler said that people would shout Black girl from Friends at her while she acted on the show
Tyler said the fact that the cast was predominately white was acknowledged at the time.
She told The Independent: It wasn’t like it was just something that people looked back at later and said, "Wait a minute." No, at the time, people talked quite a bit about the fact that, for a show that was set in the heart of Manhattan, it really lacked diversity.
But we didn’t have social media back then, so it wasn’t the large-scale conversation that it became later.
Adam Goldberg, 53, spoke out about his own brief stint on Friends. He played Joeys roommate Eddie for three episodes in season two.
Tyler said the lack of diversity on the show was shocking, especially because it was set in Manhattan
In Friends, Charlie dated both Joey, played by Matt LeBlanc, and Ross, played by David Schwimmer
Adam Goldberg, who briefly appeared on the show as Eddie, agreed that lack of diversity was a problem on Friends
Aisha Tyler played Charlie Wheeler on Friends. She was the shows only reappearing black character
While discussing the criticism Friends often receives, he mirrored Tylers statements.
Goldberg told The Independent: In terms of diversity, looking back, it seems insane. I’ve heard black people speak about this and it’s like, you never expected to see yourself, so when you didn’t, it was not a surprise,
It was just the norm that there was such a lack of diversity.
Tyler liked that Charlie was intelligent and sexy, but she felt she was not totally represented through the character.
This tied into the broader industry idea that only white stories sold, she said.
She explained to The Independent: That’s just been the attitude in Hollywood for a long time.
They’d say people won’t watch a show with these characters, and now we all know that’s not true. But that perspective still persists and there are still people who will say, well, that movie won’t sell overseas if it has a black lead, and that movie won’t sell in these markets if it has a gay lead.
Tyler hugged Matthew Perry during a benefit he hosted. Tyler reflected fondly on working with him
Tyler said that she knew Schwimmer, who also co-directed the show, was pushing for more diversity.
She also has reflected fondly on the friendships she made on the set, including the one she had with late Matthew Perry, who played the charming Chandler Bing.
Friends has been criticized for being non-inclusive, racist and homophobic.
Jennifer Aniston, 55, who starred as Rachel Green, told Entertainment Weekly: Theres a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find them offensive.
We should have thought it through, but I dont think there was a sensitivity like there is now.
Beyond Friends, Tyler said shes been turned away from a role because there was already a black character casted.
Jennifer Aniston spoke out about criticism and said that the younger generation finds Friends offensive
Tyler described lack of diversity as the norm for the television industry at the time Friends was shot
She said to The Independent: I’m like, "Have you never seen two black people in the same room in the real world? Is there just one of us? Are we like Superman and Clark Kent?
When I leave the room, does Kerry Washington come in? And then you find out later we’ve been exchanging masks?" It’s just ridiculous!
Even though Tyler believes progress has been made in the television industry, she encourages more women, people of color and other marginalized groups to get behind the camera and tell their stories.