Lisa Kudrow has reignited one of television's longest-running debates. During Monday's episode of The Tonight Show, host Jimmy Fallon asked Kudrow about her new perspective on the enduring Friends question: whether Ross and Rachel, played by David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, were really 'on a break' when Ross slept with another woman after becoming jealous of Rachel's colleague Mark.
'Yeah, I'm afraid now to bring it up,' joked Kudrow, who portrayed Phoebe Buffay on the hit NBC sitcom that concluded in 2004. Fallon pressed her for an answer. 'This is scandalous. Get ready for some scandal — some tea. What is your take? Were they on a break?' he inquired.
'Well, no,' Kudrow replied, prompting a loud reaction from the audience. 'It's beyond that. It's beyond break or not — he was a bad boyfriend,' she added, drawing cheers that echoed the prevalent opinion in recent years that some of Schwimmer's character's behavior was problematic.
'Oh, you agree?' Kudrow asked the audience, appearing surprised. 'Someone finally said it,' Fallon responded. 'He was a bad boyfriend.'
Kudrow, who was promoting the final season of The Comeback, noted that during the Friends reunion a few years ago, the cast largely adhered to the line that Ross and Rachel were on a break. Then, with heavy sarcasm, she added, 'Rachel, that hysterical shrew. You know, not letting him sleep with someone and won't get back with him.'
She continued: 'She shouldn't have gotten back with him, because he was horrible.' Kudrow elaborated, 'To me, I don't care if he slept with three other women or no other women,' before referencing the circumstances that led to Ross's infidelity. 'You had a crisis at work, so you weren't available for a few nights, and he flipped out — and you're like, "Wow."'
Fallon replied, 'Yes! I love this!'
