White Guy Actor Advocates For “All-Black” ‘Friends’ Reboot, Twitter Reminds Him They Bit ‘Living Single’
David Schwimmer, a.k.a Ross Gellar on the hit show Friends recently sat down with The Guardian, and he got very candid about the criticisms the show has faced in recent years.
Now regardless of how we feel, Friends is one of the most popular shows in television history. Despite that, it hasn’t aged very well with Black Twitter pointing out its lack of flavor (diversity). In the interview, Schwimmer claimed that he fought for more diverse casting during Friends ten -season run, especially with the women his character dated.
“I was well aware of the lack of diversity, and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color. 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.”
As far as the criticism of the show not “aging well,” Schwimmer claimed in his sitdown with The Guardian that he “didn’t care” and believed it was ahead of its time when tackling specific issues like gay marriage.
“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. You have to look at it from the point of view of what the show was trying to do at the time.”
“I feel that a lot of the problem today in so many areas is that so little is taken in context. You have to look at it from the point of view of what the show was trying to do at the time. I’m the first person to say that maybe something was inappropriate or insensitive, but I feel like my barometer was pretty good at that time. I was already really attuned to social issues and issues of equality.”
When speaking on the idea of a reunion, Schwimmer dismissed the idea of him reprising his role but definitely is on board for having a more “inclusive cast” if a Friends reboot did indeed happen. When word hit Twitter, Black Twitter quickly reminded of this other show that many feel Friends bit off called , which has it’s reportedly in the works.
You can peep all of the reactions in the gallery below.
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Photo: Tibrina Hobson / Getty
