‘Friends’ actor recalls 'toxic environment' on set of hit sitcom

‘Friends’ remains one of the most beloved Hollywood sitcoms of all time, having run for ten seasons over a decade.

To Read Lifestyle Stories in Urdu – Click Here

The hit sitcom starred Hollywood actors Matthew Perry, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.

Despite being one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, actor Stephen Park, who appeared in a couple of ‘Friends’ episodes, has made a shocking revelation about his time while filming the sitcom.

Park, appeared in Season 2 episode ‘The One With the Chicken Pox’ and Season 3’s ‘The One With the Ultimate Fighting Champion.’

“It was at the time, I felt it was kind of a toxic environment. James Hong was the actor who was also on the episode with me, and [the assistant director] was calling him to the set and you know, essentially saying, ‘Where the f–k is the Oriental guy? Get the Oriental guy,’” Stephen Park said while recalling his time on the ‘Friends’ set.

According to the actor, such an environment was usual in Hollywood in 1997. “Nobody felt the need to correct this or say anything about it. So this is normal behavior.”

Stephen Park recalled approaching Screen Actors Guild about the incident and was told to write an article to the L.A. Times.

The actor said that his article about his time on ‘Friends’ was never published, leading him share his story with everyone on his “email list” as an open letter.

“I had become so race-conscious and so angry that I was looking at everything through the lens of race. I felt like there was no freedom. I didn’t feel any freedom. So, I didn’t have any idea what I was going to do, but I just decided to drop out,” the Hollywood actor added.