When Kathleen Turner guest-starred on Friends, it seems she didn't feel welcome. It appears the main cast was incredibly close, which could be intimidating for anyone appearing on the show as a guest star. The Virgin Suicides actress played the role of Helena Handbasket, Matthew Perry's character's father, who is transgender.
The show remains incredibly popular and is still gaining new fans. However, some fans watching the show for the first time have had problems with some of the material on the show.
While some might defend the show, one of the co-creators has admitted some of the material was a mistake. When Kathleen Turner guest-starred on the show Friends, she wasn't impressed with the cast's behavior towards her.
Kathleen Turner Didn't Feel Very Welcome During Her Time On Friends
Friends was, and still is, a show that gained a huge following and a lot of fans during its run between 1994-2004. However, the cast of Friends didn't seem to live up to its name when Kathleen Turner guest-starred on the popular series.
She played Chandler's dad in three episodes. Her character, Helena Handbasket, is transgender.
In an interview with Vulture , Turner revealed, "I didn't feel very welcomed by the cast. I remember I was wearing this difficult sequined gown, and my high heels were absolutely killing me. I found it odd that none of the actors thought to offer me a seat. Finally it was one of the older crew members that said, 'Get Miss Turner a chair!'"
It does seem odd that one of her fellow actors wouldn't have noticed the Romancing The Stone actress's discomfort and helped her out. Especially since the Hollywood icon was wearing what sounds like an uncomfortable gown and high heels. On top of that, she says her feet were aching.
And it would have been pretty hard for Turner to drag a chair to where she needed it by herself in that costume. Plus she would have risked damaging her costume.
The Who Framed Roger Rabbit actress also believes other guest stars may have felt the cold shoulders of the Friends cast, referring to them as a "clique". "The Friends actors were such a clique, but I don't think my experience with them was unique. I think it was simply that they were such a tight little group that nobody from the outside mattered."
Turner's comments seem to indicate the cast wasn't very friendly towards her while she was guest-starring on the show.
What Kathleen Turner Didn't Say About Her Time On Friends
Beloved by its fans, Friends ran for ten seasons between 1994 and 2004. What made the show shine was the chemistry between its main cast: Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Courtney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc.
When asked in the Vulture interview how she found the Friends cast as actors, Turner simply said, "I won't comment on that."
It seems she didn't want to share her thoughts on what she really thought about them as actors. Or it could simply be that she just hadn't worked with the cast long enough.
Turner did say that she respected the close friendship the cast shared.
"Maybe if I’d had months to work with them, I’d be in a better position to evaluate their skill. But I could only judge based on the period I worked on the show, which wasn’t long. I do respect the camaraderie they had. You can see camaraderie on the screen."
Instead of commenting on their acting skills, Turner decided to remark on the close friendship the actors shared. The Friends cast shared a great friendship in real life, one that continues to this day. Their close connections were captured on camera, and fans loved watching the tight-knit group of friends working together on the show.
Because the cast reportedly acted like "nobody from the outside mattered", it seems the Peggy Sue Got Married actress wasn't able to get close to or form a friendship with any of the main actors on Friends.
The Material On Friends Became A Problem Years Later
It's been almost twenty years since Friends ended, so it's no surprise our society has moved forward since then. Turner's character, Helena Handbasket, would most likely be played by a transgender woman now, and most of the jokes made at her expense probably wouldn't be allowed on-air.
One of the problems with the show new watchers have noticed is the lack of diversity among the cast. Other material viewers have had trouble with are the numerous homophobic jokes and the stereotyped characters, to name a few.
However, David Schwimmer, who played Ross on the show, has a response to anyone who has problems with the material.
According to CinemaBlend, Schwimmer has stated, "I don't care. 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 gay relationships."
He continued, saying, "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 to say that maybe something was inappropriate or insensitive, but I feel like my barometer was pretty good at that time. I was already really attuned to social issues and issues of equality."
Marta Kauffman, one of the co-creators of the show friends, has spoken out about the character of Helena Handbasket.
According to IndieWire, during "The Conversation" on BBC World, Kauffman said "Pronouns were not yet something I understood. So we didn't refer to that character as 'she.' That was a mistake." She also confirmed "Chandler's father was transgender."
Despite the controversy Friends remains popular, with a growing collection of loyal fans.
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