The ‘Friends’ Creator Admits That It Was A ‘Mistake’ To Misgender Chandler’s Transgender Parent

It’s been nearly three decades since Friends first debuted, and the titular group of quirky friends had seen a lot during their 10 years on the air. There were missing monkeys, alleged breakups, and embarrassing wedding mishaps, though there is one plot that the show’s co-creator wishes didn’t happen.

In season seven, Chandler’s mother is introduced and it is revealed that she is a trans woman. Chandler handles it poorly. Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman recently admitted that the way they handled the plotline was a “mistake.”

While speaking with The Conversation on BBC, Kauffman explains why she wishes the plot were done differently. “We kept referring to her [Chandler’s transgender parent] as ‘Chandler’s father’, even though Chandler’s father was trans,” Kauffman explains. “Pronouns were not yet something that I understood. So we didn’t refer to that character as ‘she’. That was a mistake.”

This isn’t the first time Kauffman has openly regretted certain Friends plot points. Just last week, she said she was “embarrassed” by the lack of diversity in the show. She said, “I’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years,” the writer explained. “Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy. It’s painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I’m embarrassed that I didn’t know.”