Lisa Kudrow said that the largely male writers on the Friends set made disparaging remarks about the ensemble and talked about sexual fantasies about her co-stars.
Lisa Kudrow said there was "definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes" during her 10-season run on Friends. While recalling her experience, she stated that the show's writing crew, who were "mostly men," could be harsh with the actors and made nasty remarks about her female co-stars.
In an interview with The Times of London, Kudrow, who portrayed Phoebe Buffet on the NBC comedy, said the writers chastised players for missing lines or not receiving the desired response from the live audience. She also stated that in the writers' room, "the guys would be up late discussing their sexual fantasies about Jennifer (Aniston) and Courteney (Cox)." “It was intense.”
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"There was definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes," Kudrow replied. "Don't forget, we were taping in front of a live audience of 400, and if you botched up one of these authors' lines or didn't get the ideal answer, they may be like, 'Can't the f**g read? She isn't even trying. "She f***ed up my queue."
Kudrow described the authors' treatment of the ensemble as "brutal," but said she didn't pay much attention because much of it took place behind closed doors.
"Oh, it could be brutal, but these guys — and it was mostly men in there — were sitting up until 3 am, trying to write the show so my attitude was, 'Say what you like about me behind my back because then it doesn't matter'," the actor said.
On the work front
Kudrow has also appeared in popular films such asRomy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), Easy A (2010), The Opposite of Sex (1998), Analyse This (1999), The Girl on the Train (2016), and Booksmart (2019). Her most recent film in cinema was The Parenting (2025), an American black horror comedy.
In addition to Kudrow, Aniston, and Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and the late actor Mathew Perry played important parts on Friends.
Anniston was last featured in Season 4 of The Morning Show, an Apple TV Plus sitcom. The show has also been renewed for its fifth season.
