‘Friends’ Creator Apologizes for Depiction of Transgender Character – Parade Magazine
After donating $4 million to Brandeis University as part of her apology for the lack of diversity in Friends, co-creator Marta Kauffman, who made the show with David Crane, is also addressing the sitcom’s poor depiction of Charles Bing, Chandler Bing’s (Matthew Perry) parent in the show.
Played by Kathleen Turner, the show depicts Charles coming out as gay, divorcing Chandler’s mother, and then moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, to perform under the stage name Helena Handbasket.
But aside from short flashbacks to Chandler’s youth, the character always appears as Helena, leading most fans — including Kauffman —to interpret the character as a transgender woman.
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Recently, Kauffman addressed the poor transgender representation when speaking with The Conversation on the BBC World Service, as reported by The Telegraph.
She said: “We kept referring to her [Chandler’s transgender parent] as Chandler’s father, even though Chandler’s father was trans. Pronouns were not yet something that I understood. So we didn’t refer to that character as she. That was a mistake.”
Appearing in five episodes in the series, Turner’s character is continually referred to using male pronouns, and their transgender status is the butt of many jokes in the show.
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Kauffman shared that she now makes a clear effort to ensure that the environment on each show she creates “is a safe place, a tolerant place, where there’s no yelling.”
She explained that for the Netflix series Grace and Frankie, which she created with Howard J. Morris, she once “fired a guy on the spot for making a joke about a trans cameraperson,” adding, “That just can’t happen.”
Kauffman also further discussed the lack of people of color in Friends and her feelings of guilt during the interview, noting: “I was clearly part of systemic racism in our business. I was unaware of that, which makes me feel stupid.”
Touching on the public’s criticism of the show in this regard, Kauffman said, “That was a very valid, extremely difficult criticism which still… I get emotional about.”
In a 2019 interview for Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, a fan called in with a question asking Turner “how much did she love playing Chandler’s father on Friends.”
While the actor agreed with host Andy Cohen‘s following statement that the role was “quite groundbreaking” at the time, Turner then said, “Of course, I wouldn’t do it now, because there would be real people able to do it.”
Next, Friends Creator Apologizes for Show’s Lack of Diversity By Donating $4 Million