'Friends': 15 Moments That Haven't Aged Well

Excuse us, everyone? Brief announcement before we get started: stop peeing on Friends locations. We thought we were clear on this one. Okay, please be seated. We know it's been a while since we've all seen each other. But we gather here today to celebrate friendship—wait, it says we gather here today to say you all suck at being friends? That can't be right:

15 Friends Forgot to Never Forget 9/11

9/11 fire truck — Wikimedia Commons: Scott Cameron

We don't care how sensitive a topic it was. We don't care about “too soon.” If ever there was a time for a very special episode, it was on the show centered in New York City during the most consequential moment in New York City history. We're not asking for “The One Where Phoebe Finds Out She's In A Robert Pattinson Movie” or “The One Where Joey Questions Jet Fuel Melting Steel Beams.” Just the single, smallest modicum of courage from the writers to, if not meet the moment, at least glance in the moment's direction. Perhaps with a signature Tribbiani head nod.

14 Dear Trans People: You Deserve Better Than Your Transphobic Relatives At Weddings

Transgender flag — Wikimedia Commons: SVG based on Monica Helms design

“Nobody's gonna be staring at the bride when the father of the groom is wearing a backless dress.” Could Chandler BE any more intolerant of who the show refers to as “Chandler's dad?” At least Marta Kauffman apologized later? Support your trans family!

13 Dear Our Younger Readers: POC Lived In NY In The 90s

Look, we can believe a group of friends being all-white. That's not a crime, and thanks to (gestures wildly at the entirety of American history), not all that uncommon. But David Crane, Marta Kauffman, and Lisa Kudrow self-righteously defending the lack of diversity in the show is hogwash. If you live in a major American city, have a job, are a regular at a coffee shop, are actively dating, and still 90% of the people you interact with are white? Maybe look in the mirror. Kauffman did.

12 No One Can Afford That Apartment

Exterior of 'Friends' apartment building — Wikimedia Commons: Rob Young

No seriously, some of us were alive in New York in the 90s. Maybe The Rent Is Too Damn High got started in 2005, but that anger was percolating in the 90s. Fighting over that apartment? The real-life friends would have shared a studio apartment, the six of them plus rats, for $2k a month in Manhattan.

11 Imagine Just Wasting A Wedding Like That

Rachel, Ross, and Emily from 'Friends' — Warner Bros. Television

Speaking of not understanding money, imagine the cost of travel/catering/venue/dress/tux/music all associated with weddings (~$28k, per The Knot) only to have dumbass Ross say “I take thee Rachel.” Emily probably tried to make the marriage work to avoid the sunk cost.

10 Fat-Shaming Monica

From Monica's fatness being portrayed as the worst moment of her life to the lazy cliche of having her eat a donut in a fat suit…not a great look. And we don't mean Monica.

9 Ross Fires His Nanny For Being A Man

Sandy the Nanny — Warner Bros. Television

Man, our boy Ross is just a mess of toxic masculinity. Men can raise children! Sure, Ross ends up having an emotional breakthrough, but Sandy's still out of a job. Plus, it's not like Ross is father of the year, part 1/xxx.

8 Ross Tries To Force His Son To Play GI Joe

Kids will play with literally anything you set around them. Getting upset at your son for playing with a Barbie is retrograde fascist nonsense. Let your kids develop their own preferences.

7 Joey and Chandler Left A Baby On A Bus

Joey and Chandler and baby equipment — Warner Bros. Television

Downfall of trying to use your kid to pick up ladies, bros. Forget “didn't age well,” are we sure that baby got a chance to age? Especially in our age, this one sticks out.

6 Chandler and Joey See a Lesbian Kiss Then Maybe Masturbate Together?

We get that porn used to be harder to, uh, come by. But one minute of seeing Rachel and Monica kiss makes Joey and Chandler so rock hard they have to sprint to their bedrooms? It's almost quaint.

5 Joey Tribbiani Sets His Junk Out

Straight from the Louis CK School of Seduction, Joey forces Monica to see his junk within moments of them meeting. It shouldn't need to be said, but this is the internet: fellas, don't flash your dick at people.

4 Joey Tribbiani and The Inter-Generational Cycle of Sexual Violence

In Season Two, it's revealed that Joey (and his adulterous father) has been getting sexually assaulted by his tailor since he was 15 years old. This begins a long process where Joey confronts his trauma and intimacy iss—LOL JUST KIDDING, he remains a predatory oaf and is the only friend who stays single by the series finale.

3 Rachel's Haircut

“The Rachel” was most definitely A Moment. But it literally didn't age well, like, as a hairstyle to maintain. Even Aniston thought it was a pain in the ass: “I think it's the ugliest haircut I've ever seen. I was totally left with this frizzy mop on my head because I had no idea how to do what (stylist Chris McMillan) did.”

2 That Time Phoebe Causes A Massive Panic On A Plane

So the show can't address 9/11, but in episode 11 of Season Five, Phoebe calls in a threat to a plane. The episode aired in 1999, but it proves the show was aware that bad things can happen on planes.

1 The Way They Talk To Each Other

All this boils down to a simple fact: the friends on Friends don't really act like friends all that much. They trade pointed barbs as like, a default method of communication. They're manipulative and mean. The thing about moments is they eventually build into your entire life. It's important to consider the cumulative effect of moments, especially the ones that live on forever in memories of your friends.

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