‘Friends’ star David Schwimmer recently proposed the idea of an “all-black” version of “Friends,” which caused some controversy because HELLO?! Has he never heard of “Living Single?” Star Erika Alexander made sure to remind him that "Living Single" invented the template of "Friends" – something Queen Latifah has said over the years. More inside…
“Friends” star David Schwimmer suggested their should be an “all black” version of “Friends” during an interview with The Guardian that caused “Living Single” star Erika Alexander to school him on the decade-long show. Here’s what he said:
“Maybe there should be an all-black Friends or an all-Asian Friends,” the 53-year-old actor said. “But I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color. One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian American woman, and later I dated African American women. That was a very conscious push on my part. It’s interesting also how the show handled the Judaism of the characters…
”I’m very aware of my own privilege as a heterosexual white male whose parents were able to pay for a private education for me. I’ve always felt a sense of responsibility to give back and to call things out if I see an abuse of power.”
Sir. Your colonizing is showing.
Before “Friends” there was “Living Single,” which starred Queen Latifah, Kim Fields, Kim Coles, Terrence C. Carson and John Henton. In fact, if it wasn’t for “Living Single” there would be no “Friends,” which essentially is the “white version” of the hit series.
Erika Alexander, who played attorney Maxine Shaw on the show, reminded David that “Living Single” was the blueprint to “Friends.”
”Hey @DavidSchwimmer @FriendsTV - r u seriously telling me you’ve never heard of #LivingSingle? We invented the template! Yr welcome bro. ;),” she tweeted in response, including the link to his comments.
Hey @DavidSchwimmer @FriendsTV - r u seriously telling me you’ve never heard of #LivingSingle? We invented the template! Yr welcome bro. ;) David Schwimmer 2 The Guardian: “Maybe there should be an all-black Friends or an all-Asian Friends” https://t.co/r8W1ZHBwoy
— Erika Alexander (@EAlexTheGreat) January 28, 2020
In a second tweet, she wrote, “@DavidSchwimmer 4 yr edutainment. Help me school him @IAMQUEENLATIFAH @kimcoles @KimVFields #TCCarson #JohnHenton @warnerbrostv #elvisdidntinventrocknroll”
@DavidSchwimmer 4 yr edutainment. Help me school him @IAMQUEENLATIFAH @kimcoles @KimVFields #TCCarson #JohnHenton @warnerbrostv #elvisdidntinventrocknroll https://t.co/MRJQBnULlU
— Erika Alexander (@EAlexTheGreat) January 28, 2020
Twitter also gathered David on social media:
This isn't Erika's first time bringing up these receipts.
During an interview with Power 105’s “The Breakfast Club,” Erika revealed “Friends” was taken from the development of “Living Single.”
“Yes. We were called ‘My Girls’ when we first did our pilot, but it didn’t test well so they down - we were now filming the actual series. One of the executives had a whole list of names and he read them out 'Living Single,' 'Friends," etc, she said. "They chose Living Single for us and then next year, they created 'Friends.' Warner Bros, we were both Warner Bros."
Check it at the 49:45-minute mark below:
Yep. Warner Bros. (which produced both shows) decided to put more money in “Friends” instead of “Living Single,” so there’s that. “Living Single” came out in 1993, while “Friends” debuted in 1994. Both were about several friends living in New York, all congregating at one apartment most often, and love stories sporadically popped up amongst them.
”Living Single” star Queen Latifah has been saying the same things over the years. In 2017, Queen revealed they were working on a "Living Single" reboot during an interview with "Watch What Happens Live."
Host Andy Cohen asked Queen after seeing "Friends" if she thought, "Wait a minute, we've already been doing this.?"
Queen said, "No, we KNEW we had already been doing this." She said a guy called Warren Littlefield who ran NBC at the time was asked if there was any show he could have, what would it be? And he said "Living Single". Then, boom, "Friends" was created.
Check it:
A year before....
In 2016, Queen appeared on "The Late Late Show with James Corden" and she talked about how "Living Single" inspired "Friends."
Peep the clip above.
We get what David was attempting to get at, but not even acknowledging there alread was an "all black version" of the show is...problematic. We see privilege is quite blinding...
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Photo: lev radin/Shutterstock.com
source: theybf
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