Hollywood actress Jennifer Aniston has reflected on how comedy has changed while giving reference to her famous 90s sitcom ‘Friends’.
In a new interview, the 54-year-old actress spoke about the ‘tricky’ sensitivity of comedy in recent years, which wasn’t as prevalent when she starred on ‘Friends’ from 1994 to 2004.
According to the We’re The Millers actress, comedy and movies have evolved. “Now it’s a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it really hard for comedians, because the beauty of comedy is that we make fun of ourselves, make fun of life.”
Aniston maintained, “[In the past] you could joke about a bigot and have a laugh — that was hysterical. And it was about educating people on how ridiculous people were. And now we’re not allowed to do that.”
For Aniston, one example of the relatively newfound sensitivity is how particular episodes of ‘Friends’ are viewed by Gen Z. “There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find them offensive.”
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Aniston said, “There were things that were never intentional and others… well, we should have thought it through — but I don’t think there was a sensitivity like there is now.” For Aniston, everybody needs funny, the world needs humor. “We can’t take ourselves too seriously. Especially in the United States. Everyone is far too divided,” she added.
In the past year, Friends has been criticized in recent years for its lack of diversity. The series Friends (1994-2004) is one of the most popular television shows of all time. The sitcom’s cast members returned for a reunion special aired on HBO Max on May 27, 2021.
