Marta Kauffman, co-creator of the comedy “friends”, announced that he plans to donate 4 million dollars to an African and African-American studies project, being very “embarrassed” and feeling “guilty” about the lack of diversity in the characters of her popular series of the 90s.
In conversation with the Los Angeles Times, Kauffman commented that he will finance the Marta F. Kauffman Chair in African Studies at Brandeis University, Massachusetts, his alma mater.
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“Admitting and accepting guilt is not easy,” Kaufman said. “It is painful to look in the mirror. I am ashamed that I did not see (the lack of diversity) 25 years ago. I learned a lot after the series,” he mentioned.
“Friends,” which ran from 1994 to 2004, starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer. For a long time, critics highlighted the lack of long-standing African-American characters in the plot.
The most notable addition to the cast came in 2003, when actress Aisha Tyler played the paleontology professor who works with Ross (Schwimmer): Charlie. The character, who was a partner of the protagonist, disappeared after only nine episodes.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the producer’s donation will help the research department to recruit more academics, map student priorities and long-term studies.
Kauffman also shared that he initially felt “Friends” was unfairly singled out for its racial homogeneity, mentioning that certain articles were “difficult and frustrating to read.” “Over the years you learn and understand that criticism was fair at the time.”
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