Marta Kauffman confessed she did not know pronouns at the show's creation.
"We kept referring to [Helena] as 'Chandler's father,' even though Chandler's father was trans," Kauffman said, according to HuffPost UK. "Pronouns were not yet something that I understood, so we didn't refer to that character as 'she.' That was a mistake."
Kauffman said she is now more aware of social concerns surrounding race and gender.
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"I like very much to create an environment where we have a happy set and a happy crew," said Kauffman. "It's very important to me that where we are is a safe place, a tolerant place, where there's no yelling. I fired a guy on the spot for making a joke about a trans cameraperson. That just can’t happen."
The television writer also recently apologized for the show’s lack of diversity, offering a $4 million donation in hopes of contributing to conversations regarding racial equality.
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Marta, who is also the creator of Netflix hit Grace And Frankie, said she now strives to create inclusive and diverse workplaces.
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“I like very much to create an environment where we have a happy set and a happy crew,” she said.
“It’s very important to me that where we are is a safe place, a tolerant place, where there’s no yelling.
“I fired a guy on the spot for making a joke about a trans cameraperson. That just can’t happen.”
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Back in 2019, Kathleen acknowledged she wouldn’t accept the role she played in 2001.
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In an interview on Watch What Happens Live, Kathleen said: “Of course, I wouldn’t do it [today] because there would be real people able to do [the part],” she explained.
Kathleen also said she was attracted to the role because she felt she would be a “woman playing a man playing a woman”, joking: “I [hadn’t] done that before.”
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She recently pledged $4 million (£3.3m) to fund an endowed chair at Brandeis University’s African and African American studies department after “admitting and accepting guilt” over the sitcom’s casting.
Marta told BBC World Service presenter Kim Chakanetsa: “Friends has been criticized in a number of ways. The biggest one being that we did not have enough representation of Black people."
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“And over the course of the last few years, I’ve gotten to the point where I can say unfortunately yes, I am guilty of that. And I’ll never make that mistake again."
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“I was clearly part of systemic racism in our business. I was unaware of that, which makes me feel stupid. That was a very valid, extremely difficult criticism which still… I get emotional about.”
She added: “If I knew then what I know now, there are certain things I would have changed. But I didn’t know them and I have since learned.”
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