{"id":17961,"date":"2022-07-05T13:24:16","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T11:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1674563"},"modified":"2022-07-05T14:04:29","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T12:04:29","slug":"friends-boss-calls-wrong-pronouns-for-chandlers-parent-a-mistake","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/friends-boss-calls-wrong-pronouns-for-chandlers-parent-a-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"Friends boss calls wrong pronouns for Chandler\u2019s parent \u201ca mistake\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By David Craig\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 05 July 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman has addressed the show\u2019s treatment of trans character Helena Handbasket, describing the lack of respect for her pronouns as \u201ca mistake\u201d.<\/p>\n

Kathleen Turner portrayed Chandler\u2019s parent, who transitioned during her son\u2019s tumultuous teenage years and went on to secure a residency in Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the hit sitcom, several jokes are made about Helena\u2019s sexuality and gender identity, with Chandler frequently speaking to or about her in masculine pronouns and terms.<\/p>\n

Kauffman has been receptive to criticism of Friends through a modern lens, tackling the show\u2019s handling of trans issues in an interview with The Conversation on BBC World Service.<\/p>

\u201cWe kept referring to [Helena] as \u2018Chandler\u2019s father\u2019, even though Chandler\u2019s father was trans,\u201d she recalled. \u201cPronouns were not yet something that I understood, so we didn\u2019t refer to that character as \u2018she\u2019. That was a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

The television writer and producer, who has recently worked on Netflix\u2019s Grace and Frankie<\/a>, went on to detail how her approach has changed in the years since Friends wrapped up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like very much to create an environment where we have a happy set and a happy crew,\u201d continued Kauffman. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to me that where we are is a safe place, a tolerant place, where there\u2019s no yelling. I fired a guy on the spot for making a joke about a trans cameraperson. That just can\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"""\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Kathleen Turner and Matthew Perry in Friends<\/span><\/figcaption> SEAC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Another criticism frequently levelled at Friends is its lack of diversity, with Kauffman recently pledging $4 million to African and African American Studies out of \u201cguilt\u201d over \u201chaving bought into systemic racism\u201d.<\/p>\n

To BBC World Service, she added: \u201cOver the course of the last few years I\u2019ve gotten to the point where I can say unfortunately yes, I am guilty of that. And I\u2019ll never make that mistake again.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2026 I get emotional about.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I knew then what I know now, there are certain things I would have changed. But I didn\u2019t know them and I have since learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friends is available to stream on Netflix<\/a>. Check out more of our Comedy<\/a> coverage or visit our TV Guide<\/a> to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now \u2013\u00a0subscribe now<\/a>\u00a0and get the next 12 issues for only \u00a31. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the\u00a0Radio Times podcast<\/a>\u00a0with Jane Garvey.<\/b><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n

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By David Craig Published: Tuesday, 05 July 2022 at 12:00 am Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman has addressed the show\u2019s treatment of trans character Helena Handbasket, describing the lack of respect for her pronouns as \u201ca mistake\u201d. Kathleen Turner portrayed Chandler\u2019s parent, who transitioned during her son\u2019s tumultuous teenage years and went on to secure a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":17962,"template":"","categories":[5],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/friends-boss-calls-wrong-pronouns-for-chandlers-parent-a-mistake.jpg",1276,850,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/friends-boss-calls-wrong-pronouns-for-chandlers-parent-a-mistake-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/friends-boss-calls-wrong-pronouns-for-chandlers-parent-a-mistake-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/friends-boss-calls-wrong-pronouns-for-chandlers-parent-a-mistake-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/friends-boss-calls-wrong-pronouns-for-chandlers-parent-a-mistake-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/friends-boss-calls-wrong-pronouns-for-chandlers-parent-a-mistake.jpg",1276,850,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2022\/07\/friends-boss-calls-wrong-pronouns-for-chandlers-parent-a-mistake.jpg",1276,850,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By David Craig Published: Tuesday, 05 July 2022 at 12:00 am Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman has addressed the show\u2019s treatment of trans character Helena Handbasket, describing the lack of respect for her pronouns as \u201ca mistake\u201d. Kathleen Turner portrayed Chandler\u2019s parent, who transitioned during her son\u2019s tumultuous teenage years and went on to secure a…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/17961"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}