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David Schwimmer Claims He Pushed For Ross To Date Women Of Color
David Schwimmer already knows all about the lack of diversity on 1990s sitcom Friends. But according to a new interview, he tried to rectify some of that through his own character, revealing that he pushed for Ross to date women of color throughout the series.
“I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color,” Schwimmer said while speaking to The Guardian. “One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian-American woman, and later I dated African-American women…That was a very conscious push on my part.”
During Season 2, a Chinese-American actress named Lauren Tom played Ross’ girlfriend Julie; Aisha Tyler played both his and Joey’s (Matt Le Blanc) love interest throughout Season 9. Gabrielle Union also dates both Ross and Joey in one episode of the series.
While he admits the show was nowhere near diverse, thr actor does push back against critics who think the show was homophobic, transphobic or sexist. These accusations are largely based on the characters’ regular mocking of Chandler’s father, a transgender woman.
“The truth is also that show was groundbreaking in its time for the way in which it handled so casually sex, protected sex, gay marriage and relationships,” Schwimmer responded. “The pilot of the show was my character’s wife left him for a woman and there was a gay wedding, of my ex and her wife, that I attended…I feel that a lot of the problem today in so many areas is that so little is taken in context. You have to look at it from the point of view of what the show was trying to do at the time. I’m the first person to say that maybe something was inappropriate or insensitive, but I feel like my barometer was pretty good at that time.”
You can read David Schwimmer’s full interview, which touches on his white privilege and the lack of diversity in Hollywood, here.