Marta Kauffman, the “Friends” co-creator has announced that she plans make amends for not having a more diverse cast on the famous NBC comedy series.
Learning from one’s mistakes
“I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years,” Kauffman said to the LA Times “Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It’s painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know better 25 years ago.”
The famous hit sitcom “Friends” documented the daily lives of six young single people based in New York. The show ran for 10 seasons from the year 1994 until 2004 and in that time it became a global sensation. It is actually considered one of the most successful sitcoms ever made and went on to win 62 Primetime Emmy Awards and a bunch of other awards and accolades.
While several of the recurring roles included black actors, the six main characters were all white. Kauffman regrets making this casting choice while still saying she’s happy that Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry were all part of the hit series.
Kauffman spoke out last year on the subject saying that there were “probably a hundred things I would have done differently,” but that they didn’t purposely choose an entirely white cast.
However, Kevin Bright, the series co-creator defended their choices, “I would have been insane not to hire those six actors. What can I say? I wish Lisa was black?” Bright said to The Hollywood Reporter prior to 2021’s Friends Reunion Special.
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Her plans to make amends
Kauffman is now pledging $4 million to her alma mater, Brandeis University. It’s been reported that the money will go specifically to African American students. The Marta F.Kauffman ‘78 Professorship in African and African American Studies is said to “support a distinguished scholar with a concentration in the study of the people and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora.” As well as “help the department to recruit more expert scholars and teachers, map long-term academic and research priorities and provide new opportunities for students to engage in interdisciplinary scholarship,” said the university.
Kauffman went on to say, “It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic racism,” “I’ve been working really hard to become an ally, an anti-racist. And this seemed to me to be a way that I could participate in the conversation from a white woman’s perspective.”
According to Kauffman the topic of diversity has been on her mind for some time.
“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 reported to the LA Times. “That was really the moment that I began to examine the ways I had participated. I knew then I needed to course-correct.”
She also added, “What makes this truly emotional for me is that I want this connection I didn’t have,” “I deeply, deeply want this connection with the black community that I didn’t have. Because of ‘Friends,’ I never attained that.”
A team effort
Her partner and co-creator of “Friends” has confirmed that any future projects the two do would definitely include a more racially diverse cast.
“I feel I was finally able to make some difference in the conversation,” Said Kauffman to the publication. “I have to say, after agreeing to this and when I stopped sweating, it didn’t unburden me, but it lifted me up. But until in my next production, I can do it right, it isn’t over. I want to make sure from now on in every production I do that I am conscious of hiring people of color and actively pursuing young writers of color. I want to know if I will act differently from now on. And then I will feel unburdened.”
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Sources
- “How lack of diversity on ‘Friends’ led to $4-million pledge” LA Times. June 29, 2022.
- “‘Friends’ creator’s $4M apology for lack of diversity: ‘I’m embarrassed’.” NY Post. Adriana Diaz Social Links for Adriana Diaz. June 29, 2022
- “Marta Kauffman Pledges $4M Endowment for African and African American Studies at Alma Mater” The Hollywood Reporter. June 17, 2022
- “‘Friends’ Creators on Creative Regrets and Biggest Reunion Reveals: “It Was a Very Hot Topic on the Set” The Hollywood Reporter. May 27, 2021.