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'Friends' cast rejected one very 'incestuous' storyline — and we are so glad they did

The 'Friends' cast was less than thrilled with one storyline, which was equally dissed by fans worldwide.

For decades Friends has captivated hearts worldwide, each season being as funny as the one before. However, there were also times when it received backlash for insensitive storylines. For instance, Phoebe Buffay, played by Lisa Kudrow, having an unusually thick-skinned reaction to her mother committing suicide takes the numero uno spot. Another occasion was when the Friends cast themselves weren't thrilled with a seemingly 'incestuous' plot.

Last year, on the 30th anniversary of the show, writer Adam Chase in a conversation with The Guardian, explained that the actors were strongly opposed to the idea of two core members of the friend group, Rachel Green, played by Jennifer Aniston, and Joey Tribbiani, by Matt LeBlanc, dating. "The cast was very much against it. It felt very incestuous to them,” shared Chase. 

The brief romantic pairing of Rachel and Joey was introduced at the end of Season 9. The storyline continued into the early episodes of Season 10 and the final season, which sparked significant resistance not just from the fans but also from the cast. Given the characters’ long-established platonic dynamic and the deep-rooted real-life relationships within the group, the storyline was just simply jarring. Despite the backlash, the writers allowed it to play out briefly before reverting Rachel and Joey to their original status as close friends. The decision also made way for Rachel’s emotional reunion with her on-again, off-again lover Ross Geller—played by David Schwimmer— in the series finale, cementing their iconic romantic arc.

This is not the only time when a cast member opposed a certain storyline of the hit show. Late Matthew Perry also protested his character Chandler Bing cheating on Courtney Cox's Monica Geller. Actress Lisa Cash revealed she was originally cast as a hotel worker in the Friends Season 5 episode The One in Vegas: Part 1. As per TMZ, the actress revealed that her character was initially set to have a brief fling with Chandler. The scene would have featured Chandler and Monica arguing in Vegas about the latter having lunch with her ex-boyfriend Richard (Tom Selleck). Cash said, "Chandler goes up to the hotel room and orders room service, and I bring it up as a hotel worker. We end up talking and laughing and connecting, and Chandler ends up cheating on Monica with my character," as per the New York Post.

However, Perry was not pleased with the storyline, believing it would hurt Chandler's likability and the picture-perfect pairing of Monica and Chandler. "The day before we were supposed to shoot it in front of a live audience, I was told that [Perry] went to the writers and said the fans will never forgive (Chandler) for cheating on Monica," Cash shared. She admitted, "He was probably right. That would have possibly changed the course of the show." Cash went on to appear in the same episode as a flight attendant alongside Ross and Rachel.