Friends is an absolutely iconic ’90s TV show, and is also considered a now all-time classic sitcom.
And if you’re an older millennial or Gen X’er, then you probably remember just how huge of a cultural impact the series had and that it was truly must-see TV.
Recently, while promoting Netflix’s Murder Mystery 2 in Paris, Jennifer Aniston spoke to AF4 (via Yahoo News!) about how comedy has changed since her days on Friends, saying, “Comedy has evolved, movies have evolved. 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.”
She went on to add, “[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.”
Jennifer went on to say how that evolution in comedy has caused some of the jokes and storylines on Friends to become problematic, saying, “There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find them offensive.”
And while Friends is now an almost 30-year-old TV show and a product of its time, Jennifer did admit that there were probably some things that at the time they probably didn’t need to make into a joke: “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.”
Even though humor has changed, Jennifer thinks there should be more comedy movies and TV shows out there, adding, “Everybody needs funny! The world needs humor! We can’t take ourselves too seriously. Especially in the United States. Everyone is far too divided.”