There used to be a time when Friends was one of the highest-rated sitcoms and was loved by millions of fans; there are hoards of people who still adore it. Jennifer Aniston was one of the lead actors in the show whose career took off after she played Rachel Green. But lately, Aniston has been facing backlash from the netizens for her comment about the show, which started a whole lot of online debate. According to France 24, Aniston hinted that she would have probably gotten canceled if Friends was released today. The actress believes that comedians can’t get away with saying anything these days unlike in the old times because the audience has changed with time.

"Comedy has evolved and movies have evolved. Now it’s a little tricky because you have to be very careful, which makes it really hard for comedians. After all, the beauty of comedy is that we make fun of ourselves and make fun of life," the actress said, per the outlet. It seems that the 54-year-old actress had put little thought into what she was saying. As predicted, the internet crowd showered their words of wrath on social media to criticize the actress, who has enjoyed her Friends fame for decades.

"There’s a whole generation of people, kids, who are now going back to episodes of Friends and find them offensive. Some things were never intentional and others…well, we should have thought it through – but I don’t think there was a sensitivity like there is now," she complained. 

True enough, the content on television networks and the audiences have evolved with changing times and it’s not easy to get away with misogynistic, homophobic or racist remarks anymore. But such insults were common on TV in the 90s; it’s better for all of us if we leave them in the past and expect the comedians to work a little harder to make us laugh. 

Martha Kauffman, the co-creator of Friends even lamented about the lack of diversity in the show and expressed her remorse. According to LA Times, she said, “I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years. Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It’s painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know better 25 years ago.” To make amends, Kauffman also pledged $4 million to create an endowed professorship for Brandeis University's African and African American studies department.

Nothing stopped the netizens from virtually bashing the actress. Some people called her out on her "internalized misogyny" whereas others pointed out how being a comedian is all about knowing how to "read the crowd." @WrittenByHanna commented on Twitter referring to Aniston's character in the sitcom: "It’s unfortunate that Gen Z is too sensitive to understand the refined comedy of a show about a girl who gave up her lucrative Parisian job for the dweeb she curved in high school."

Aniston might not have been responsible for the inclusion of hurtful content on the show, but defending it and blaming the youth for not enjoying offensive material only hinders the progress of the masses. We hope the actress thinks twice before speaking about the show next time so that she doesn't end up getting trolled.