Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman admits she ‘didn’t do enough’ to promote diversity within the show

Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman got emotional while admitting that she didn’t do enough to promote diversity on her hit NBC sitcom.

Kauffman, 63, who co-created the sitcom with David Crane, spoke during the virtual 2020 ATX TV… From the Couch panel, when she was asked about what she ‘wished she knew’ when she started her career in television.

The writer/producer teared up and got emotional, stating, ‘I wish I knew then what I know today.  

‘Sorry, I just wish I knew then what I know now. I would’ve made very different decisions,’ Kauffman added, referring to the show’s lack of diversity, which it was often criticized for.

‘I mean we’ve always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn’t do enough and now all I can think about is what can I do?’ she added.

‘What can I do differently? How can I run my show in a new way? And that’s something I not only wish I knew when I started showrunning, but I wish I knew all the way up through last year,’ Kauffman said.

While Friends is arguably one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, running for 10 seasons between 1994 and 2004, the show’s lack of diversity was always something it was criticized for.  

David Schwimmer, who played Ross on the hit show, told The Guardian in an interview last year that he was always pushing for diversity.

‘I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color,’ Schwimmer said.

Kauffman was on the panel with The Vampire Diaries  showrunner Julie Plec, whose show also has a largely white cast as she added, ‘“That has been the hardest pill for me to swallow, is that I’m part of that group.’

A Black Lady Sketch Show creator Robin Thede explained that they are simply part of a racist system that’s been in place for years.

‘You guys are just as much a part of systemic racism as well because it’s a system. That’s what I keep telling people,’ she began.

‘It’s not one person being racist ruining everything, it’s a system that was set up by racists to encourage and teach racism and disguise it,’ Thede added.

‘No one was supposed to know it was wrong, that was the point. We were supposed to look like we were yelling for no reason. We were supposed to look like kneeling was an offense to the flag and not a cry to stop killing us,’ she added.

‘We’re supposed to be made to look bad and now people know better and when you know better, you do better and that’s all that people are asking for,’ Thede concluded.

Kauffman also created the hit Netflix show Grace  & Frankie, starring Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda.