The one with the fat-shaming and homophobia… people are pointing out the things in Friends they wouldn’t get away with today
The sitcom is back on Netflix but not everyone is a fan
FANS of Friends were chuffed when the sitcom got a rebirth on Netflix at the end of last year.
But, during a 13-year absence, it seems the world has moved on.
New viewers of the show, which last aired in 2004, have been taking to Twitter to call it out for some non-PC thinking.
They have accused the show of fat-shaming as well as being homophobic and transphobic in the treatment of the LGBT characters.
There are also suggestions of sexism and gender stereotyping, painting our favourite nineties show in a very bad light indeed.
So here are the Friends moments that, on reflection, may not be so cool.
Body-shaming
Courteney Cox’s character Monica is a successful chef and stunning to boot.
But she used to be overweight – and the rest of the cast never let her forget it.
One scene sees them watching her old prom night on video, and Joey joked: “Some girl ate Monica!”
Monica also claims the “camera adds ten pounds” to which Chandler replies: “How many cameras were ON you!”
A classic clip of her dancing while eating a bagel drew some harsh criticism from viewers.
Homophobia and Transphobia
Throughout the show Chandler Bing, played by Matthew Perry, is ashamed of his dad.
Born Charles, he is seen working as a drag queen in Vegas under the name Helena Handbasket – and is played by movie star Kathleen Turner.
After seeing him on stage, Chandler asks: “Don't you have a little too much penis to be wearing a dress like that?”
But viewers saw that as both homophobic and transphobic.
One viewer tweeted: “What I've learned from Friends being added to Netflix: the homophobic and transphobic jokes age it SO BADLY.”
Fans were also not impressed with an episode in which Chandler is horrified that people think he is gay.
Sexism
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As well as the gay jokes, the boys in Friends seem to be stuck in a timewarp when it comes to gender.
In one episode, Ross is horrified when Rachel hires a male nanny for their baby, Emma, and questions whether he is gay.
He rants: “What kind of job is that for a man? It’s like a woman wanted to be a ...”
Luckily he never finished that sentence.
Joey’s predatory behaviour towards women doesn’t go down too well in 2018 either.
He’s obsessed with bedding every girl he can and, in one scene, he compares women to ice-cream and tells Ross to "grab a spoon".
Lack of Diversity
Some viewers are also not happy by the obvious lack of racial minorities in the show, despite it being set in New York in the 1990s.
But not everyone agreed with the younger viewers who complained about the sitcom.
Many though they were overreacting to and not taking the context of the era into account.