Friends continues to be regarded as one of the most iconic and cherished television series, even many years after its debut. Nevertheless, a recent disclosure made by actor Stephen Park during his appearance on the Pod Meets World podcast suggests that the show's set was characterized by a 'toxic environment,' where instances of racist name-calling went unchallenged.

Friends set was a toxic environment?

Stephen Park made his appearance in Season 2 of the series during the episode titled "The One with the Chicken Pox," as well as in a Season 3 episode named "The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion." According to a report by Variety, he shared insights about his experience filming the show during a podcast discussion. He remarked, "At that time, I perceived it as somewhat of a toxic environment. James Hong, who also appeared in the same episode, was being summoned to the set by the assistant director, who was essentially saying, ‘Where the ***k is the Oriental guy? Get the Oriental guy.’”

‘Nobody felt the need to correct this’

He further remarked, “This is not the first occurrence of this nature, you know, but this reflects the environment in Hollywood in 1997, where such behaviour was considered commonplace. At that time, no one felt compelled to address or comment on it. Thus, this was regarded as typical conduct.”

Stephen also mentioned that he approached the Screen Actors Guild to discuss the incident and was encouraged to draft a statement for the LA Times. However, the matter did not receive any further attention thereafter.

The cast of Friends included Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Lisa Kudrow. Matthew Perry tragically passed away in 2023, having been found deceased at his residence in Los Angeles. Toxicology reports revealed that his death resulted from acute ketamine effects, in addition to drowning and coronary artery disease.

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