Friends star Jane Sibbett has detailed the abuse she received over her famous role in the show.
The actor played Ross's ex-wife Carol Willick, who came out as gay following her affair with future wife Susan. Carol later gave birth to her son Ben, who she shared with Ross (David Schwimmer).
In a new interview with The Sun, Sibbett, who starred in TV's first lesbian wedding on the hit sitcom, revealed that she faced a lot of backlash over her character's sexuality.
"I would say there was 95% support, but once I had flown to Canada to shoot a Disney movie and a child was yelling at me out of a school window," she said.
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"He was shouting, 'Go home, American f*g' and I just went, 'Wow, wrong on so many levels dude. Come down here and have a conversation with me'. Then I had a woman from my old church call me up... and proceeded to [tell] me that I was going to burn in hell."
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The actor went on to explain that her religious father refused to watch Friends for years after Carol and Susan's wedding. Instead, he chose to hold a bible study on the nights it aired.
"It caused stress in my own family," she recalled. "We had a big situation with my father who wouldn't watch the show. Thankfully he came around to it in the end.
"It was heartbreaking that he wouldn't watch it. He would hold a bible study group at the time it aired to ensure his friends wouldn't see it either. It took my godfather writing a letter to him saying how proud he was of me for the wedding scene that cracked it for my father.
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"He thought, 'Wait, I'm not going to be judged for this and it can help people'. It was great for that wound to be healed before my dad passed."
During the interview, Sibbett also revealed that she initially auditioned for the part of Rachel Green, who is famously played by Jennifer Aniston.
She explained that she is "grateful" to have instead been chosen to bring Carol's "groundbreaking" story to the screen.
"No one could have played Rachel better than Jennifer, and Carol was such a healthy role model," she added. "It was groundbreaking for a lesbian character on TV but also for how Carol and Ross handled divorce and co-parenting without fighting. It was a gift."
Related: How to get Friends' complete series boxset
To celebrate the show's 30th anniversary, US streamer Max has commissioned a four-part competition show to search for the ultimate Friends super-fan.
Fast Friends will be filmed at The Friends Experience, The One in New York City, where a group of contestants will take part in a series of challenges on a replica of the show's set.
The tasks will include trivia contests, interactive puzzles, and other games where contestants can "re-live their favourite moments" from the show. The quickest team will win the title of ultimate Friends fan.
Friends streams on Netflix in the UK, where it also airs daily on Comedy Central. In the US, you can stream the show on Max.
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Sara is an entertainment journalist who specialises in TV and film. After studying journalism at the University of Roehampton, Sara joined Digital Spy in 2023, writing news (and the occasional feature) on all things entertainment. She has also written for the culture desk at The Evening Standard. A lover of all things TV and film, Sara can wax lyrical about everything from Bridgerton to The Witcher. She can also recite entire episodes of New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. In her spare time, Sara loves to knit, crochet and cross-stitch. Also a musical theatre aficionado, Sara counts Samantha Barks as one of her heroes and is a loyal fan of Jodie Comer.
