While many elements of Friends may not have aged particularly well over the last three decades, one of the iconic '90s sitcoms many merits was it being the first show to air a wedding scene between two women.
Back in January 1996, episode 11 of season two of the comedy series - explanatorily titled ‘The One with the Lesbian Wedding’ - saw Ross’s ex-wife Carol Willick and her partner Susan Bunch tie the knot in a ceremony catered by Monica.
Though the scene broke grounds for LGBTQ+ representation on TV, actress Jane Sibbett - who played Carol - has recalled being on the receiving end of some pretty vile comments after the show made the air.
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Speaking about the revolutionary storyline on Friends, Sibbett said there was some ‘hullabaloo’ when the two women said 'I do’ on national TV.
"Same-sex weddings were rare on TV in 1996. There was some hullabaloo. Two affiliate stations refused to air it. They still trim it out in China,” she told The Guardian.
"Representation is so integral. To this day, people tell me it opened conversations about their sexuality."
Previously discussing the reactions to the scene, Sibbett revealed she had been insulted by ‘a child’ when in Canada to shoot a film.
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"I would say there was 95 per cent support but once I had flown to Canada to shoot a Disney movie and a child was yelling at me out of a school window," she explained to The Sun.
"He was shouting, ‘Go home, American f*g’ and I just went, ‘Wow, wrong on so many levels dude. Come down here and have a conversation with me'."
The star, who is a mom of three, also had a hard time within her community and family, with her own father originally determined not to watch the episode.
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"I had a woman from my old church call me up… and proceeded to tell me that I was going to burn in hell,” she said.
"It caused stress in my own family. We had a big situation with my father who wouldn’t watch the show. Thankfully he came around to it in the end.
"It was heartbreaking that he wouldn’t watch it. He would hold a bible study group at the time it aired to ensure his friends wouldn’t see it either.
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"It took my godfather writing a letter to him saying how proud he was of me for the wedding scene that cracked it for my father."
Sibbett and co-star Jessica Hecht, who portrayed Susan, were recurring characters on the show throughout its ten seasons.
Despite Ross often making queerphobic comments when discussing his relationship with his ex-wife and her new 'life partner', the three of them partly resolved their issues during the wedding episode, which saw Ross step in for Carol’s family when they refused to attend the ceremony.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the LGBT Foundation on 0345 3 30 30 30, 10am–6pm Monday to Friday, or email [email protected]
Topics: Friends, LGBTQ, TV And Film
Stefania Sarrubba