Friends Reunion sparks controversy over the absence of Black celebrities in guest line-up

Ahead of the much-awaited Friends Reunion special episode, HBO has released a star-studded celebrity guest list who will make an appearance in this unscripted episode. The list has named 30 celebrities including David Beckham, K-pop stars BTS, Lady Gaga, Malala Yousafzai, Justin Beiber and more. However, fans were disappointed (but not surprised) when they realised that the list is devoid of the names of Black celebrities, which is not unlike the show’s original episodes.

The Friends Reunion also misses out on the only Black celebrity who played a significant role in the original series - Aisha Tyler. She appeared as Charlie, Joey’s (and then Ross’) girlfriend, in a handful of episodes in seasons 9 and 10.

The widely followed series has had problems with the representation of BIPOC in the past also.

Ten seasons, a decade worth of episodes and multiple plotlines were not enough for the creators of Friends to incorporate Black characters into the cast. The show was even unable to cast Black actors in supporting roles.

For many, this jarring fact is just dawning on them - their favourite show might not be the most inclusive space for BIPOC. The lack of diversity in a show set in New York City, which has a thriving Black population, was not well received by fans when they were reminded of this by the announcement of the special episode’s guest list.

Termed as unrealistically white, the special episode will stream on HBO Max on May 27. Fans will be able to revisit some of their favourite moments from the show with the main cast which includes Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry.

The Reunion special was supposed to be filmed over a year ago, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This special episode has been filmed at the same sound studio as the original Friends series.