'Friends' Creator Apologizes for Lack of Diversity in the Show; Pledges $4M Donation to Make up for It

"Friends" creator Martha Kauffman is embarrassed about the lack of diversity on the popular TV show, prompting her to pledge a $4 million donation to make amends for the demographic issue.

The Blaze reported that Kauffman was initially frustrated by the criticism and believed that the show was unfairly singled out. She has since then changed her mind over the matter.

Kauffman told the Los Angeles Times she has learned a lot in the past 20 years, adding that "admitting and accepting guilt is not easy."

She then said it was "painful looking at yourself in the mirror" and was embarrassed that she did not know "better 25 years ago."

'Friends' Creator Martha Kauffman to Donate $4 Million

According to Martha Kauffman, the protests against George Floyd's death opened her eyes to the presence of racism in society. She said at that point, she knew that she needed to "course-correct."

In trying to redeem herself, Kauffman has pledged $4 million to her alma mater, Brandeis University, to fund an endowed chair in the school's department of African and African American studies, which is one of the oldest in the country.

According to New York Post, the university announced that the Marta F. Kauffman '78 Professorship in African and African American Studies "will support a distinguished scholar" focusing on the study of "the peoples and cultures of Africa and the African diaspora."

The funding will also be used to assist the department in recruiting more expert scholars and teachers and plotting long-term academic and research priorities.

Kauffman told Brandeis that it took her a long time to understand how she internalized "systemic racism," adding that she has been working "really hard" to be an anti-racist.

"And this seemed to me to be a way that I could participate in the conversation from a white woman's perspective," the "Friends" creator noted.

The show faced renewed calls to address its lack of diversity when "Friends: The Reunion" aired last year. Martha Kauffman, at the time, did not feel it was appropriate.

She said she does not know how the two were related and how they could have addressed it in that context of the reunion, "going into all the things we did wrong and there were others."

However, her co-creator Kevin Bright stood firm on his choices, noting the "chemistry" between the six main actors. He said he would have been insane "not to hire those six actors."

"What can I say? I wish Lisa was black?" Bright told the Hollywood Reporter.

TV Show 'Friends'

"Friends" premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994, and Martha Kauffman had just turned 38 when the show was launched.

She and co-creator David Crane had created an all-white cast of six lead characters who "rarely interacted with Black, brown, or Asian people," Huff Post reported.

"Friends" garnered an audience of 16.9 million viewers by the end of season one. It featured Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: 'Friends' Co-Creator Marta Kauffman '78 Endows Chair in AAAS Department at Brandeis - From Brandeis University Alumni Association