Overview
- Lisa Kudrow, in an interview published Thursday by The Times of London, said the largely male writers’ room talked late at night about sexual fantasies involving Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox and berated actors when jokes fell flat.
- She described sessions with roughly 12 to 15 writers, mostly men, working until 3 a.m., and said filming before a live audience of about 400 heightened tensions when lines were flubbed.
- Multiple outlets reporting Tuesday noted there has been no public response from the show’s writers, NBC, or Warner Bros. Television to Kudrow’s remarks.
- Her comments have refocused attention on the earlier lawsuit by writers’ assistant Amaani Lyle, which the California Supreme Court rejected in 2006 after finding the crude talk occurred within a creative workplace for an adult-oriented comedy.
- Kudrow also praised the series’ work and said the six leads still earn about $20 million each year in residuals, adding that rewatching the show after Matthew Perry’s 2023 death deepened her appreciation for its legacy.