10+ Of The Most Problematic Moments On 'Friends'

So there was this episode of Friends where Ross had this huge problem with a straight guy being his kid's nanny.

We now have the hindsight to ask: "What's the big deal?"

Especially with poor Monica, who got it the worst, obviously.

And suddenly she became a character worthy of our attention when she got skinny? What's so bad about being fat?

The whole episode they're trying to leave the party so they can meet up with Joey's hot roommate and her friends.

At one point, Joey even refers to women as objects.

So Rachel just wants to walk around her house naked.

Ross assumes that she's only doing that because she wants sex. Can women just be naked and not want to bone? Is that allowed?

Chandler was always trying to prove that he wasn't gay, and any mention of a man on the show being gay was met with immediate anger.

What's so bad about being gay?

After extensive study, people have found that there aren't a lot of characters in the show who aren't white. In fact, there are three non-white named characters on Friends.

That doesn't seem right for a city as big as New York.

Alright, so there are a couple of problems with this one. Cultural appropriation, for starters, and then the fact that Chandler can't kiss her because he finds them disgusting.

A traditional black hairstyle is gross to you, Chandler?

It seems that this kind of thing has been gaining some traction on certain websites these days.

Still, in most people's opinion, it's still pretty problematic.

It was always played up for laughs.

Sure, most of it was at Ross' expense, but honestly, the way they treated gay characters in this show was very problematic indeed.

Like when Chandler made fun of Joey for knitting. What's the problem with that? It's not traditionally male, sure, but the times are a changing old man! What's that old Bob Dylan quote?

"And you better start swimmin', Or you'll sink like a stone?"

There's one episode where he kisses who he thinks is Rachel while she is asleep. He wants to beat up Chandler for sleeping with Monica even though she's into it.

What's your deal, Ross?

The time he was looking for a roommate and he wrote in the ad: "wanted: female roommate. Nonsmoker, non-ugly."

You know what? Pretty much every scene with Joey that revolved around a woman.

This is the kind of stuff you'd see in horror movies these days.

He was so jealous and so possessive, and probably taught a whole generation of boys that this was okay.

While it was empowering to have an out gay character on TV, they mixed up one important detail: that drag queens and trans men were the same things.

They are not.

It was a different time.

A time when a kid couldn't just be a kid and play with the things that made them happy. They needed to play with gender-specific toys... for some reason.

The weird thing about this relationship was... that he was her friend's dad.

He knew her as a child. He watched her grow up and now... he wants to be with her?

Gross.

Just so she could be with Ross! Of all people!

News flash Rach: you could've found someone way better than stinky ol' Ross in Paris!

What a lame decision on her part, and not a good way to influence girls.

Man, was this episode creepy!

Sure, he got what was coming to him (instead of getting the hot girl, he got some old guy) but still!

What if that creep did end up getting her?

So that she would be less attractive.

Could you imagine going through chemo at the time, trying your best to be confident while battling a horrible disease, and then seeing this episode?

When she hired Tag instead of Hilda, who had all sorts of qualifications and experience, it made fans so darn mad!

Imagine if the roles were reversed? How creepy this would be?

I know this may be an unpopular opinion, but hear me out: Janice wasn't all that bad.

Sure, she was loud. But that was really about it. And yet, they treated her like garbage.

We already know about all the fat-shaming they did for Monica, but remember when they fat-shamed a poor little girl?

Is this supposed to be funny? Making fun of a child's weight?

I get it, weddings are expensive, but shouldn't they be saving for the future?

There was no sympathy for Monica at this moment, and the way she treated Chandler for wanting to be ready for the future was awful.

For the record, cast of Friends, Ross is a doctor.

You may not think it, you may not want to believe it, you may think it's funny to make fun of him...

But he is a doctor.

Well, at least in one instance.

When Rachel is moving to Paris, he's all bummed out about never seeing her again... wait, didn't they have a child together? Shouldn't he be more worried about that?

Was there no paperwork that needed to be done? No custody battle? Everyone was just cool with Rachel carting her baby across the world?

Ross? Got anything to say here, buddy?

We've already covered Ross wanting to hook up with his first cousin, but it turns out he also kissed his sister.

Uh... what's with the obsession with incest on this show?

Come on, man. You dated her like five years ago. It's time to move on.

Sure, he's your friend and everything, but shouldn't you be happy that he's happy? That she's with someone you love and trust?

We've been all over Ross this article, and we've been all over the way they treated Susan and Carol.

But the way the lesbian couple treated Ross as a sperm donor and not the father of Ben is awful.

The #MeToo movement has been all over this kind of thing in the last couple of years, and in Friends it was treated as a joke.

Isn't so funny nowadays, is it?

Yeah, this was a bit of deceit that should be unforgivable. However, it's a sitcom, so of course, everything was okay by the end of the episode.

But seriously, this was bad.

Sure, they're two consenting adults or whatever, but this position of power dynamic was always at least a little bit problematic.

The worst was when the two of them would make out.