Marta Kauffman: I made a mistake

In the interview she gave, she admitted that she swore and felt guilty for not introducing more diverse characters to the hit series.

Jul 2, 2022 - 10:10
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Marta Kauffman: I made a mistake

Martha Kauffman, one of the creators of the hit sitcom "Friends," has donated $4 million to a university for African and African-American studies, in response to criticism that she received because the popular series did not have enough diversity.

In the interview she gave, she admitted that she swore and felt guilty for not introducing more diverse characters to the hit series that premiered from 1994 to 2004. “I have learned a lot in the last 20 years. Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It was painful to look in the mirror. I'm ashamed that I didn't know better 25 years ago.

She, by the way, could not understand why the fans were so harsh, but now she understood that their criticisms were "fair". Everything changed for her when George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis police in 2020, which sparked the "Black lives matter" movement.

After what happened to George Floyd, I started to think about racism in a way that I hadn't before. Then I began to explore the ways in which I participated. I knew I had to improve” - she said. 

As he says, she hopes that the donation she gave will help to employ more people and deepen studies and research. “Now I just want every production I do to hire more people of color and to have more writers of color” - she said.

Last year, all the creators of the series- Martha, David Crane, and Kevin Bright admitted that it would have been very different if they had made the series in the present day.

If we were to make a series today, there is no way that the entire cast would be white. We would be aware of everything. A lot would have changed", they said and revealed that even at the time, they didn't insist that all the main actors be white, but that the only reason it happened that way was because there was chemistry among the six actors - Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry.

Post by: Rinna James