Carol and Susan’s lesbian wedding in Friends ‘blocked by some channels’
Friends showed one of the first lesbian weddings on TV (NBC)
Friends‘ lesbian wedding episode wasn’t shown by some NBC affiliates, according to actress Jane Sibbett.
Sibbett’s character on Friends, Carol, tied the knot with Susan during Season 2’s “The One with the Lesbian Wedding“—but not everyone in the US was able to watch the January 1996 episode.
In an interview with The Guardian on Wednesday (February 6), Sibbett said: “It was important to us, and the producers, that we showed a couple that was in love. But certain affiliates wouldn’t air the episode with our wedding. They completely blocked it out.”
The Friends star also revealed she was behind a sex joke in Season 3 episode “The One Without the Ski Trip,” in which the lesbian pair celebrates the anniversary of the first time they had sex.
“That was the only time I pitched something that was really outrageous, and it actually got on air.”
— Friends star Jane Sibbett on her lesbian sex joke
“There was one joke we kept changing,” Sibbett recalled. “We couldn’t get it right.”
“It was the episode where Susan and I are celebrating our anniversary, and Ross comes over at an inopportune moment, and I had to telegraph to him that it isn’t a good time.
“So I removed a little pube from my tongue. That was the only time I pitched something that was really outrageous, and it actually got on air,” she added.
Friends sparks controversy around treatment of gay and lesbian characters
When Friends came to Netflix last year, viewers were shocked to find that it was more problematic than they remembered.
People complained about the homophobic, transphobic and misogynistic storylines—for instance, when Chandler refuses to recognise his trans mother’s gender identity, instead using her deadname and calling her “dad.”
Other viewers took aim at Ross, who at one point berates his son Ben for playing with a Barbie doll and assumes that the male nanny hired by Rachel is gay.
Friends has been criticised for its treatment of gay, lesbian and trans characters. (Netflix)
After people voiced their outrage, Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey on the show, defended Friends from the accusations.
He told BBC News: “I’ve heard those rumours too about people taking pot shots at Friends, but I don’t want to get into that. I disagree with all that.”
He added: “Friends was about themes that stand the test of time – trust, love, relationships, betrayal, family and things like that.”
The actor and presenter added that he avoids making some jokes in his private life for fear of offending people.
“I’m not in the business of making political jokes, politically incorrect jokes,” said LeBlanc.
“I don’t want to make jokes that make people go ‘Ooh, that’s not my bag.’ I don’t like that, I run from that kind of stuff.
“Because that joke isn’t going to be relevant in six months.”
