Over the course of its ten seasons, it was impossible for Friends to escape controversy - given its fanbase and weekly ratings, the series was viewed under a microscope for years.Still, to this day, fans are binging on episodes and this will continue for years to come. In the following, we'll take a look at Friends episodes that caused some controversy - which in turn would lead to delays and reshoots.In addition, we'll take a deeper look at, 'The One with the Lesbian Wedding' and what went on behind the scenes. It is said that NBC worried about the backlash the episode topic would cause but ultimately, they really had nothing to worry about... Let's take a look at how it all went down.
It Wasn't The First Time Friends Got Into Trouble For An Episode
Throughout its decade long run, Friends was forced into reshooting several scenes, for various reasons. One them took place in the midst of 9-11, during the episode that followed, Chandler was using the term bomb in an airport. The entire scenes of Monica and Chandler getting into trouble were taken off and put into the deleted-scenes category.
"You don't have to worry about me, ma'am. I take my bombs very seriously," Chandler stated in the canceled scene.
Friends saw other scenes get modified as well, but for tamer and less controversial reasons. Although Tom Selleck was extremely nervous prior to his debut on the show, he was met with a massive roar of approval from the audience - so much so that the applause went for way too long.
Given the length and how loud it got, the producers had to reshoot the scene with Tom Selleck, though in the modified version it took place without an audience.
In 1996 however, Friends face pressure from the network, after airing 'The One with the Lesbian Wedding.'
NBC Feared Complaints Following The One With The Lesbian Wedding
The then-controversial episode aired on January 18th, 1996. 'The One with the Lesbian Wedding' was featured in season two, episode 11. The premise of the episode saw Carol and Susan get married, though the network was very worried about the reaction.
Ultimately, NBC hit the panic button, hiring hundreds of operators, in the case of complaints. Marta Kauffman revealed that there was absolutely nothing to worry about, as the network barely got any calls, unlike what they had anticipated.
"When we did the lesbian wedding of Friends, everybody was up in arms. [NBC] put 104 operators on for fear of getting a million phone calls. They got two," Kauffman stated.
Kauffman would further state that this didn't change at any point, as the only complaints to come in were by the same person.
"A month later, they got all the letters, but nobody called," Kauffman added. "And the letters were all from the Rev. [Donald] Wildmon. What a putz!"
Everything turned out to be just fine, and it was a proud moment for the show, celebrating same-sex marriages. However, it turns out that not all of Friends' affiliates saw it that way.
The One With The Lesbian Wedding Was Banned By Certain Affiliates
It was a powerful episode and one that had some neat details as well. According to IMDb, the music playing during the ceremony had deeper meaning, "The wedding processional music played by the string group is "Trumpet Voluntary" by Jeremiah Clarke and is the same wedding processional music performed at the wedding of Princess Diana Spencer and Prince Charles. Jeremiah Clarke was an English composer from the late 1600s and "Trumpet Voluntary" is popular wedding processional music," IMDb's trivia section stated.
Despite the good this episode intended on, Jan Sibbett, who played the role of Carol, revealed that not all the networks and affiliates saw it that way. Ultimately, in certain affiliates, the episode did not air.
“It was important to us, and the producers, that we showed a couple that was in love,” Sibbet told the Guardian. “But certain affiliates wouldn’t air the episode with our wedding. They completely blocked it out.”
An unfortunate scenario and an episode that deserved better looking back.
