Lisa Kudrow Speaks Out on Friends' Lack of Diversity

Lisa Kudrow is giving her candid thoughts on the lack of diversity on her hit '90s sitcom, Friends.

The actress and Emmy winner, now 59, reminisced on her career and role as Phoebe Buffay in a recent interview with The Daily Beast, as well as discussed why there would never be a revival TV show or movie with the original cast.

Despite the cult following the NBC show still maintains, and the longtime friendships Kudrow keeps with former costars David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, and Matt LeBlanc, the Romy and Michele star explained, "If there would ever be anything like [a revival], if [creators] Marta [Kauffman] and David [Crane] ever signed off on anything like that, it would have to be a different cast at that age. I think it would need to be more current—and more diverse representation is not a bad idea, you know?"

The cast of Friends.

Kudrow admitted that, though the cast lacked racial diversity, it was still the story Kauffman and Crane felt like they could tell in 1994. "It was a show created by two people who went to Brandeis and wrote about their lives after college. And for shows especially, when it's going to be a comedy that's character-driven, you write what you know," she said. "They have no business writing stories about the experiences of being a person of color."

Still, she continued, "I think at that time, the big problem that I was seeing was, 'Where's the apprenticeship?'"

Kauffman has also recently recognized the show's shortcomings. She previously told The Hollywood Reporter, "There are probably a hundred things I would have done differently." In response, she pledged $4 million earlier this year to her alma mater, Brandeis University. The donation will go toward the school's African and African American studies department.

Melody Leibner

Melody Leibner is the Digital Editorial Intern for BAZAAR.com, where she covers e-commerce and shopping, fashion and celebrity news, and all things pop culture.