[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Lisa Kudrow is sharing deeply disturbing new details about the Friends set.
In an interview with The Times of London published over the weekend, the actress, who played lovable, quirky Phoebe Buffay in the iconic sitcom, reflected on the harsh reality of set life she and her co-stars endured — specifically as a result of some a**holes in the writers’ room!
The Comeback actress noted “there was definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes” before getting into the nitty-gritty details about the 12-15 man writing staff which had impossible expectations for the cast’s live line readings:
“Don’t forget we were recording in front of a live audience of 400, and if you messed up one of these writers’ lines or it didn’t get the perfect response they could be like, ‘Can’t the bitch f***ing read? She’s not even trying. She f***ed up my line.’”
That’s insane!!!
First of all, to be expected to nail EVERY line in EVERY scene as the writers intended is an impossible task in and of itself. That’s why multiple takes is a thing! Second off, performing said lines in front of more than 400 live audience members, not to mention the entire production team?? Who WOULDN’T flub a line or two every now and then?? But her claims only get worse…
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While talking about the male-dominated writing crew, Lisa revealed it was an open fact that talked inappropriately about their “sexual fantasies” with Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox:
“And we know that back in the room the guys would be up late discussing their sexual fantasies about Jennifer and Courteney. It was intense.”
She added:
“Oh, it could be brutal, but these guys — and it was mostly men in there — were sitting up until 3am trying to write the show so my attitude was, ‘Say what you like about me behind my back because then it doesn’t matter.’”
How grotesque is that! Ew, ew, ew!
Mind you, Lisa’s claims aren’t coming out of nowhere… In 1999, writing assistant Amaani Lyle, who at the time was tasked with transcribing pitch meetings, was disturbed to be privy to the sort of lewd conversations that went on late at night. So she raised a sexual and racial harassment case against Warner Bros. Television over the alleged misconduct that occurred in the writers’ room. The case was elevated all the way to the California Supreme Court, where a decision was ultimately ruled against Lyle.
What are your reactions to these disturbing revelations, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments down below.
[Images via CBS/YouTube & Warner Bros. Television/HBO Max]
