Lisa Kudrow recalls 'brutal' behind-the-scenes treatment from 'mostly male' “Friends ”writing team
Lisa Kudrow recalls 'brutal' behind-the-scenes treatment from 'mostly male' “Friends ”writing team
Ryan ColemanTue, April 28, 2026 at 2:42 AM UTC
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Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, and Lisa Kudrow for 'Friends' in 1995Credit: NBC/GettyKey Points -
Lisa Kudrow says the Friends writing team wasn't always pleasant to work with.
"There was definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes," the actress told The Times. "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?"
Kudrow also alleged that male members of the writing team "would be up late discussing their sexual fantasies about Jennifer [Aniston] and Courteney [Cox]. It was intense."
Friends is for many the ultimate comfort show. But it wasn't always a safe space behind the scenes, according to one of its stars.
Lisa Kudrow has been endlessly effusive about her Friends experience in the 22 years since the series concluded its historic run on NBC. There are, however, dark sides to Friends that the Comeback star recently spoke about with candor.
"There was definitely mean stuff going on behind the scenes," Kudrow explained in an interview with The Times published on April 23. "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.'"
Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, and Lisa Kudrow on 'Friends'Credit: NBC/Getty
That's not all. Kudrow reportedly stated that she and her castmates, especially Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, knew "that back in the room the guys would be up late discussing their sexual fantasies about Jennifer and Courteney. It was intense.”
Kudrow told The Times that the dynamic between the series' cast and its writers "could be brutal, but these guys — and it was mostly men in there — were sitting up until 3 a.m. trying to write the show so my attitude was, 'Say what you like about me behind my back because then it doesn't matter.'"
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Aniston and Cox, NBC, co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and executive producer Kevin S. Bright for comment.
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This isn't the first time objectionable conduct has been flagged in the Friends writers' room. In 2004, former Friends writers' assistant Amaani Lyle brought a suit against Warner Bros. Television, alleging that she was subjected to sexual and racial harassment by the series' writers, who regularly made lewd jokes and remarks, as well as simulated obscene gestures.
The California Supreme Court unanimously ruled against Lyle, deeming that vulgar and coarse humor can be a necessary component of a creative workplace.
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Kudrow has been among the most forthcoming of the Friends cast about the series' ups and downs. The beloved sitcom ran for 10 seasons on NBC, from 1994 to 2004, earning Kudrow and Aniston both Emmy Awards.
In 2024, she confirmed that the six core castmates were actually friends off screen, but "that six-way relationship took some work." Earlier this month, she recalled feeling neglected not by her castmates or the Friends creative team, but by her own management. "Nobody cared about me... There were certain parts of [my talent agency] that just referred to me as 'the sixth Friend,'" she said. "There was no vision for me, and no expectations about the kind of career I could have."
on Entertainment Weekly
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