"Friends" star David Schwimmer recently discussed the show's legacy, which has been freshly scrutinized since its series finale in 2004.
"I was well aware of the lack of diversity," he told the Guardian in a new interview, published Monday.
The 53-year-old actor is best known for his role as the sentimental paleontologist Ross Geller, one of six main characters, all of whom were white New Yorkers.
"I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color," he continued. "One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian American woman, and later I dated African American women. That was a very conscious push on my part."
Schwimmer is referring to two of his character's long-term girlfriends: Julie (played by Lauren Tom) on season two and Charlie (played by Aisha Tyler) on season nine. Ross also briefly dated a black woman named Kirsten (played by Gabrielle Union) on season seven.
Although "Friends" is still massively popular, largely thanks to a new life on streaming services like Netflix, it has also been criticized in retrospect for its lack of diversity, as well as for using LGBTQ characters and fat characters as punchlines. Many younger viewers have deemed the show "problematic."
To this, Schwimmer simply said: "I don't care."
"The truth is also that show was groundbreaking in its time for the way in which it handled so casually sex, protected sex, gay marriage and relationships," he told the Guardian. "The pilot of the show was my character's wife left him for a woman and there was a gay wedding, of my ex and her wife, that I attended."
"I feel that a lot of the problem today in so many areas is that so little is taken in context," he continued. "You have to look at it from the point of view of what the show was trying to do at the time."
Schwimmer said he's not particularly interested in a traditional "Friends" reboot with the original actors and characters, because he doesn't want to "mess with what felt like the right way to end the series."
He did, however, suggest a more diverse remake: "Maybe there should be an all-black 'Friends' or an all-Asian 'Friends.'"
Read his full interview with the Guardian here.
- Read more:
- 44 of the most groundbreaking LGBTQ characters and relationships on TV
- THEN AND NOW: The stars of 'Friends' 15 years later
- Matt LeBlanc revealed that David Schwimmer wasn't very enthused about working with the monkey on 'Friends'
- The actor who played Rachel's ex Barry in 'Friends' almost got the part for Ross, but David Schwimmer auditioned at the last minute
