‘Friends’ reeking of sexism and racism? David Schwimmer doesn’t think so

While Friends remains one of the most iconic shows of all time, some millennials cannot help but argue that the series reeks strongly of sexism and racism in certain aspects.

Addressing this longstanding criticism against the classic 90s sitcom was David Schwimmer who essayed the character of Ross Geller on the show from 1994 to 2004.

Speaking to The Guardian, Schwimmer had nonchalant and blasé response to the criticism: “I don’t care.”

He went further, saying the show was “groundbreaking” at the time for the way it handled the changing dynamics of relationships as well as gay marriages.

“The pilot of the show was my character’s wife left him for a woman and there was a gay wedding, of my ex and her wife, that I attended. I feel that a lot of the problem today in so many areas is that so little is taken in context. You have to look at it from the point of view of what the show was trying to do at the time,” he said.

“I’m the first person to say that maybe something was inappropriate or insensitive, but I feel like my barometer was pretty good at that time. I was already really attuned to social issues and issues of equality,” he added.

Moreover, touching the subject of the lack of diversity on the show, Schwimmer said: “There should be an all-black Friends or an all-Asian Friends,” adding that he “was well aware of the lack of diversity [on the show] and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color. One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian American woman, and later I dated African American women. That was a very conscious push on my part,”.

Regarding the show’s dealing with religion, Schwimmer said: “I don’t think that was earth-shattering or groundbreaking at all, but I for one was glad that we had at least one episode where it wasn’t just about Christmas,”.

“It was also Hanukkah and, even though I played the Hanukkah armadillo, I was glad that we at least acknowledged the differences in religious observation”.