For Jennifer Aniston, Friends came at the perfect time.
The actress starred on the hit comedy alongside Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. In a new interview, she admitted she’s glad the show was filmed back then because the cast wasn’t plagued by social media criticism.
“It was the ’90s and 2000s, and we had the luxury of not having social media or the internet, so we were isolated and sheltered,” she explained in conversation with Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson. variety.
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Jennifer Aniston said that she and her “Friends” co-stars had the “luxury” of staying off social media while filming the show. (Getty Images)
“Friends” first aired in 1994. (John Reigel/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal)
She continued: “People didn’t comment or make judgments. It was a really innocent time, a time when we could walk through the world a lot easier.”
“But there were no calls. There were no hundreds of screens showing what it was.”
Branson, who writes, produces and stars in “Abbott Elementary,” said he envies Aniston for having had that experience and that he implemented a strict “no social media” policy during the sitcom’s first season to ensure the show’s creators were not influenced by what others said online.
“It’s a beautiful boundary,” Aniston told her, “because otherwise you lose the original creation.”
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Jennifer Aniston plays Rachel Green. (Getty Images)
The cast members of Friends have remained close over the years. (NBC)
Star also spoke about the 30th anniversary of “Friends,” which first aired in September 1994.
“It’s so strange to even think that it was 30 years ago,” she said, “Because I remember the day it premiered on NBC. Matthew Perry and I were having lunch somewhere, and I knew Lisa was getting her hair dyed. So we ran into the salon, and I snuck up, and she was in the sink, and I grabbed the nozzle from the guy who was supposed to do it and started washing her hair. It definitely got out of control, and it was unfortunate, but the excitement we felt, it just feels like yesterday.”
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Jennifer Aniston often chats up her former Friends co-stars. (Penske Media via Getty Images)
The cast rallied following the death of Matthew Perry (left) last year. (NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)
Despite it being 20 years since the group last appeared on the show, it’s still incredibly popular, and although Aniston has had remarkable success in film and TV since “Friends” ended, she still acknowledges how important her fans were to her.
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“The fact that this dog has lived such a long and wonderful life and is still so precious to people is the greatest gift that all five of us, all six of us, could have ever imagined,” she told Branson. “We see each other. I spoke with Kourt on FaceTime for an hour last night, and with Lisa and the boys. We are truly a forever family.”
