‘Why?’ Friends fans react to news James Corden will be among reunion special guests

Presenter has developed a reputation for scoring cameo roles in major film and TV projects, which not everyone enjoys

Fans of the Nineties sitcom Friends are up in arms over the news that James Corden will be appearing in the highly anticipated reunion special.

Details of the reunion were finally unveiled this week, including a long list of guest stars who will appear in the TV special.

David Beckham, Justin Bieber, and BTS will also be featured, alongside Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Kit Harington, Mindy Kaling, and Malala Yousafzai.

However, it was Corden’s casting that had many complaining on social media, with much of the vitriol aimed at his habit of scoring cameo roles in major films, despite now being known predominantly as a TV presenter.

Most recently, he received heavy criticism for his portrayal of a gay actor in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix film, Prom.

“James Corden in the Friends reunion makes sense to me, tbh. It’s straight people’s turn to get their culture ruined,” wrote musician Grace Petrie, referring to the Prom controversy.

You can see some of the other strong reactions below:

Other guest stars will be more familiar (and more popular) with Friends fans.

Witherspoon previously had a recurring role in the sitcom as Rachel Green’s (Jennifer Aniston) sister Jill.

Elliott Gould, who portrayed Ross and Monica’s father, Jack Geller, will make an appearance with Christina Pickles, who played their mother, Judy.

The Friends reunion special was originally announced in February last year, but filming was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Original lead castmembers Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer all served as executive-producers.

HBO Max has described the special as “a real-life unscripted celebration of the beloved show”.