The conversation around diversity has been intensifying lately, making everyone think about its importance in all areas of life. One recent topic of discussion? The iconic 90s sitcom Friends.
Quinta Brunson, known for her role in Abbott Elementary, recently pointed out Friends for its lack of diversity. While hosting Saturday Night Live, Brunson used her monologue to highlight the absence of Black characters in the beloved show.
Brunson contrasted the diversity on Abbott Elementary, which features the lives of teachers in a predominantly Black, state-funded elementary school in Philadelphia, with the noticeable lack of diversity on Friends. The difference was strikingly evident.
With her well-known wit, she joked: “I wanted to be on SNL back in the day, but the audition process seemed long – so instead, I just created my own TV show, made sure it became really popular, won a bunch of Emmys, and then got asked to host. So much easier, so much easier.”
While the audience chuckled, the underlying point was clear. Brunson continued, “It’s a network sitcom like, say, Friends. Except, instead of being about a group of friends, it’s about a group of teachers. Instead of New York, it’s in Philadelphia, and instead of not having Black people, it does.”
Her playful commentary sparked serious reflection, even from Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman. Kauffman has publicly expressed embarrassment over the show’s lack of diversity and pledged $4 million to support African and African-American studies at a university.
“I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years,” Kauffman admitted. “Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It’s painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know better 25 years ago.”
She added, “It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized systemic racism. I’ve been working really hard to become an ally, an anti-racist. And this seemed to me to be a way that I could participate in the conversation from a white woman’s perspective.”
The discussion around diversity is far from over, but it’s clear that the conversation has advanced—even for a cherished sitcom like Friends.
WATCH : Sen. Tim Scott joined “The View” on Monday and it did not take long for the gloves to come off
South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott joined “The View” on Monday and it did not take Iong for the gloves to come off.
The show began fairly light-hearted with Scott speaking about his 2024 presidential campaign, but ended up sparring with co-host Sunny Hostin after she pressed him to define “systemic rac ism.”
The conversation began when Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Scott about his optimistic message and his running on his Iife story of having overcome great adversity to live the American dream. Then, Hostin hijacked the conversation and attempted to spar with Scott over his positions.
The interview got so tense at one moment that Goldberg asked the crew for help when she was demanding Scott stop talking so they could cut to commerciaI.
Below is a partial transcript of the exchange:
HOSTIN: I am actually happy that you’re here. We — we — we have some things in common. You grow up — you grew up in a singIe-family household, single-mother household, I grew up with both of my parents but raised in the Bronx projects amidst a lot of poverty and — and — and violence. And you were the first black senator elected in the south since the reconstruction, that would be about — I think, about 114 years. Yet you say that your life disproves left—leftist lies. And — and —
Scott: Yes.
HOSTIN: my question to you is, I’m the exception, right? You’re the exception. Maybe even Ms. Whoopi Goldberg is the exception but — but —
HAINES: She is definitely the exception.
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