Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson came under fire after joking about the lack of diversity in the hit sitcom Friends during her Saturday Night Live (SNL) monologue.
Saturday night, Brunson opened SNL for the first time by talking about her sitcom, Abbott Elementary. The comedy show follows a group of teachers who work in a Philadelphia public school. While explaining the show, she jokingly compared it to Friends, adding her series had more diversity.
“I have a show called Abbott Elementary, and it’s kind of unique…it’s a network sitcom, like, say, Friends, except instead of being about a group of friends, it’s about a group of teachers,” she told the audience and viewers. “Instead of New York, it’s in Philadelphia. Instead of not having Black people, it does.”
Humorless critics ran to social media to bash the actress for her joke, saying it was pointless since the show aired years ago. Critics mentioned that the show did have Black cast members, highlighting Ross Geller’s (played by David Schwimmer) infatuation for Black women. People also thought they were doing something by listing the sitcoms that contained all Black casts.
To be honest, we should all be glad there weren’t black characters on Friends. It’s not like they would’ve done a good job making believable characters.
— Kevin Dalpiaz (@KevinDalpiaz) April 2, 2023
And yet I’m still going to watch friends every time it’s on when I have nothing to do lol y’all can hate on it forever, but it’s still the best sitcom of all time. Had to have its own reunion show lol
— Hilary ~ MollyVegas ミ☆ (@MollyVegas) April 2, 2023
Why is it so cool to hate on friends? ? I’m not tripping on Friends not having black ppl bc Living Single exists and I love both shows equally. + it was the 90s a different time than today if friends were made today I’m sure it would be diverse but 90s tv was very segregated
— Magnolia (@DinaeDonna) April 2, 2023
Cheap shot at a show that’s been off the air for almost 20 yrs. FRIENDS wasn’t the only show at the time with an all white cast. It’s petty & divisive.
— BelFlo (@Belflo) April 2, 2023
Fans rushed to Brunson’s defense and taught critics that Friends was a knock-off version of Living Single, an all-Black comedy surrounding six friends (male and female roommates) in New York.
So… Why are y’all interpreting saying that friends didn’t have black people as hate? It’s a fact. There were NO main black characters, no black reoccurring characters, hell even any significant consistency in the background. If it wasn’t set in New York, maybe, but….
— Aquarius’s Groove (@Tslay91) April 2, 2023
For all the dense people with think pieces on Friends & what Quinta Brunson said:
The producer of Friends stole the idea/concept from the producer of Living Single. Living Single was pitched first & they took the idea & ran it with white characters.
That’s what she referenced
— Killmonger’s Rage ?? (@drewcorleone86) April 3, 2023
Before you get recreationally offended at the quote
Watch the clip
She’s not complaining or dissing friends
She made a throwaway joke
There are no black people in friends
She didn’t say we need to riot about it
Don’t take jokes so seriously ?
— Jay D. Cartere (@JayCartere) April 3, 2023
Quinta Brunson’s opening monologue on was spot on. The lack of diversity on popular shows like “Friends” was a major issue, and it’s refreshing to see “Abbott Elementary” break the mold. Representation matters! pic.twitter.com/2h3dl52sPU
— Likki’s ReTweeting (@Likki) April 3, 2023
For those mentioning the Black actors and actresses who appeared on Friends, realize that they were guest stars. None of them were the main characters.
In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, David Schwimmer revealed he was highly aware of the lack of diversity on the show and said he was the one that pushed for his character to date more women of color.
“But I was well aware of the lack of diversity, and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color,” Schwimmer explained. “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.”
Friends‘ own star admitted to the lack of diversity while viewers deny it says a lot about how dense critics were quick to gaslight Black people. Additionally, the show was set in New York City, a place filled with Black culture and. people, and viewers didn’t see an ounce of it (Ross singing “Baby Got Back” doesn’t count).
Friends‘ lack of diversity and Brunson’s SNL joke supported that Blacks struggled to land starring roles for years before Black sitcoms came around. Shows containing all-Black cast members surfaced due to U.S. networks’ refusal to cast more Black characters. Thanks to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), shows were created for Black actors, and the organization pushed for Black representation in Hollywood.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, when Blackface and minstrel performances reigned, African Americans were portrayed as brute and jovial slaves. This led African American performers to create their own minstrels for Black audiences, using comedy and satire to show the Black experiences the audience, and performers understood and experienced.
As years progressed, Black actors landed supporting roles with white-starring cast mates. Today, some Black A-list entertainers obtain leading roles, but no doubt they face discrimination during the audition process.
Unlike white entertainers, Black actors and actresses worry about being seen as too dark for a role on top of their acting skills, forcing them to work twice as hard. Viola Davis is pushing through those barriers and showing young Black girls what’s possible, but even she has called out Hollywood, specifically for subjecting Black actresses to marginalized roles. Black women were either playing a mammy-like character or a mad Black woman.
To those who listed all-Black cast shows to justify the inequality in Hollywood, that’s like saying, “Black people have their own network and month, so they should stop victimizing themselves.”
Meanwhile, white people can sip their tea and enjoy the privileges that come with their skin color, while BIPOC has to pray their race doesn’t prevent them from enjoying basic pleasures like equality.
