Lisa Kudrow tears up as she recalls ‘Friends’ importance ‘for people’

Lisa Kudrow, who is renowned for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the comedic sitcom, Friends, still gets "a little emotional" remembering the effects of the program on people after 9/11.

The star understood that the series gave people a sense of escapism following the horrific terrorist attacks on the United States, which claimed the lives of 2,977 victims.

In a video interview with Vanity Fair, Lisa said: "After 9/11, I understood how important entertainment really is, and how important comedies are, and how important Friends was to people because we do need that escape."

The actress, who portrayed her character consistently on all 10 seasons of Friends recalled emotional meetings with fans after the events of September 11.

She remembered: "I would drive home from the set, from Friends, and people, you're at a stoplight, and the car next to you, someone would look over and go, 'Ahh!'

"After 9/11, it still gets me a little emotional, I have to say. Someone would look over and just go, 'Thank you,' like, about to cry, and just say, 'Thank you.' And I fully understood what they meant,” Lisa explained to the outlet.

"That's when I think I really took it in, you know, what these shows do mean to us. And [I] felt very proud to be contributing to a break for people,” she added.

The Romy and Michele's High School Reunion cast member realised that people were getting a "mental health service" because of Friends - which ran from 1994 until 2004.

But for Lisa, it was the NBC sitcom Will and Grace that provided her comfort in the aftermath of 9/11.

"After 9/11, all I was doing was watching the news and every single thing I saw was someone who knew someone that was in one of the towers or something like that,” she told PEOPLE magazine back in 2023.

"I started watching Will + Grace, and I said, 'Oh, OK. Oh, I wonder, they're in New York. Oh God, they're in New York. I wonder who they knew in the buildings, if they knew anyone,’” Lisa wondered.

"Then I went, 'Oh, no, wait, no, because they would've shot this before 9/11. You work in that TV, you know. Don't be an idiot.' Then I went, 'No, no. This is fiction. In this world, it didn't even happen,'" she discussed, recalling her moment of epiphany.

"I just needed that break, and I was so grateful that there was something to watch where 9/11 hadn't happened at all. It was a break that I really needed,” Lisa Kudrow admitted, which shows that even celebrities need a break.