David Schwimmer apologises after calling for 'all-black or all-Asian' version of Friends

Actor was accused of forgetting about 'Living Single', a series focused on a group of African-American characters

Tuesday 04 February 2020 13:36

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Friends star David Schwimmer has apologised to Living Single actor Erika Alexander after she criticised his claims that it was time for an “all-black Friends or an all-Asian Friends”.

Schwimmer made the remarks an interview with The Guardian, where he defended the hit NBC sitcom against accusations that it lacked diversity.

He said that Friends was “groundbreaking in its time for the way in which it handled so casually sex, protected sex, gay marriage and relationships… You have to look at it from the point of view of what the show was trying to do at the time.”

Responding to Schwimmer’s suggestion that the world needs a new, non-white Friends, Alexander tweeted: “Hey @DavidSchwimmer @FriendsTV, r u seriously telling me you’ve never heard of #LivingSingle? We invented the template. Yr welcome, bro. ;) [sic]”.

Living Single ran for five seasons on Fox, from 1994 to 1998 and focused on a group of African-American friends living in New York City.

All six friends in Friends, ranked from worst to best

Show all 6

1/6All six friends in Friends, ranked from worst to best

All six friends in Friends, ranked from worst to best

6. Joey Tribbiani

Sure, over the years, Joey provided the show with some of its best-known one-liners (see: “Joey doesn’t share food!” and “How you doin’?”). He was also a recurrent source of situational comedy (see: Joey locking himself into his media unit to prove a point, only for all his and Chandler’s belongings to get robbed). Still, it’s hard to compare his goofiness to Chandler’s dryness or Phoebe’s knack for the absurd.

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All six friends in Friends, ranked from worst to best

5. Ross Geller (tie)

Ross probably thought he was a good guy, but his record shows otherwise. He cheated on Rachel (no, they were not on a break) then tried to get her back; he dated one of his students; he challenged Phoebe’s belief that her mother had been reincarnated in a cat (which, sure, he’s entitled to his doubts, but could he not just drop it?); and he wasn’t the best brother to Monica, nor was he the best father to his son Ben.

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All six friends in Friends, ranked from worst to best

5. Monica Geller (tie)

This might be an unpopular opinion, since Monica is such a beloved character, but: I have never found her laugh-out-loud funny. Sure, her excessive competitiveness and cleanliness were amusing, but it was no match for Phoebe’s otherworldliness or Chandler’s bitterness. Sorry.

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All six friends in Friends, ranked from worst to best

3. Rachel Green

Rachel had her moments – and boy, were they great moments. She sang “Copacabana” in that terrible bridesmaid dress at her ex-fiance’s Barry’s wedding, for one. She fell violently to the ground while trying to escape from Ross and his new girlfriend Julie during an ill-fated attempt to welcome Ross at the airport. She unsuccessfully tried to woo her crush Joshua with a cheerleading routine at a party. Let’s make it official: Rachel was a hoot.

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All six friends in Friends, ranked from worst to best

2. Chandler Bing

Chandler’s friends derided Chandler’s humour pretty much every time as they acknowledged it – undeservedly so. The man was a master at banter! Sure, he used it as a defense mechanism, but who could blame him? Plus, he wasn’t great at the advice, but he could always interest you in a sarcastic comment.

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All six friends in Friends, ranked from worst to best

1. Phoebe Buffay

Phoebe was so wonderfully weird in a way that made her one of the funniest of the bunch. Remember when she sang along to Ross’s terrible attempt at playing the bagpipes? What about when she told Rachel her maternity trousers would be great for shoplifting melons? Good times.

Getty Images/Warner Bros Television

Schwimmer, who played Ross, Friends’ buffoonish romantic lead, apologised on Twitter, saying: “I didn’t mean to imply Living Single hadn’t existed or indeed hadn’t come before Friends, which I knew it had.”

You can read his full statement here.

Alexander took the apology well, saying it was "very thoughtful", and promised a longer response in the days to come.

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