Jennifer Aniston Reflects on Claims that Friends is Offensive

Jennifer Aniston reflects on the challenges of comedy today. In a new interview, the 54-year-old noted that comedy has shifted over time and the new generation reacts in a different way to episodes of Friends than when it first aired from 1994 to 2004.

Aniston who played the role of Rachel Green in the 90s sitcom told AFP that “comedy has evolved, movies have evolved. Now it’s a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it hard for comedians, because beauty of comedy is that we make fun of ourselves, make fun of life…”

“There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of ‘Friends’ and find them offensive. 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.”

Explaining further, she said comedy has evolved in a way that it is tough for comedians. “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”, she told AFP.

Aniston added, “Everybody needs funny! The World needs humor! We can’t take ourselves too seriously. Especially in the United States. Everyone is far too divided.”

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