Lisa Kudrow talks about Audrey Hobart’s song about ‘Friends’ character Phoebe
We caught up with Lisa Kudrow at SXSW and asked her if she’d heard of Audrey Hobart’s song dedicated to Friends character Phoebe Buffay.
Lisa Kudrow shares her passionate thoughts on one of the most infamous debates in television history.
During an appearance on “The Tonight Show,” the “Friends” star gave his thoughts on the classic sitcom’s “On the Break” argument involving Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston). When Jimmy Fallon asked Kudrow if Ross and Rachel were on vacation, the actress replied, “No, they’re not!” But she didn’t stop there.
“It’s beyond,” Kudrow said. “It doesn’t matter if it breaks or not. He was a terrible boyfriend!”
Fallon’s studio audience immediately applauded, and even Kudrow seemed surprised. “Oh, I agree!” she said. “I feel better,” Kudrow said, adding that after their fight “during the break,” Rachel “shouldn’t have gotten back together with[Ross]because he was a terrible person!”
In Season 3 of Friends, Ross and Rachel get into a big fight and Rachel suggests they take a break from their relationship. Ross then has sex with another woman, which upsets Rachel. However, Ross claims he was on vacation at the time and did not cheat on Rachel. These incidents came up frequently throughout the rest of the show, and each time Rachel mentioned it, Ross defensively exclaimed, “We were on a break,” and it became a running joke.
Since then, there has been frequent debate over Ross’ actions and whether he and Rachel were actually on a break. In 2020, Schwimmer defended Ross on “The Tonight Show” and gave his opinion on the issue. “People are so divided about whether they were on break or not. Well, that’s not even a question. They were on break.”
After Kudrow’s comments about Ross being a bad boyfriend went viral online, she took to Instagram to clarify her comments on “The Tonight Show.” “But!!! Then he told her she should go to Paris. He became a good partner! He did,” she wrote about an incident in the final season when Rachel was offered a job in Paris.
Kudrow appeared on “The View” on May 7 to further elaborate on his position.
“He wasn’t (a good boyfriend) at that point, but in the end he got better and sent her away,” Kudrow said. “It’s like, ‘Yeah, let’s go to Paris. Don’t think twice. It’s a great opportunity.'” But in that season, when “we were on a break,” that didn’t matter to me. His cheating came long after the fact that he was completely unsupportive and dismissive of her career, work, and her dedication to it. “Well, I haven’t seen you for three nights because you had a crisis.” That’s what bothered me. ”
Kudrow came up with this idea after revealing that he will be rewatching “Friends” as a viewer in 2024, 20 years after the series finale. Kudrow told The Hollywood Reporter that she decided to watch the show again in honor of her co-star Matthew Perry, who died in 2023.
“To be honest, I was too embarrassed to watch it myself,” she told reporters. “But if I’m making it about Matthew, that’s fine. And it’s just celebrating how hilarious he was. And that’s what I want to be remembered for (about him).”
