Lisa Kudrow has clarified recent comments made by her former Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston about one aspect of the show they had differing feelings about.
Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Lisa was asked about whether it was true she “hated” when the Friends studio audience would laugh, as Jen claimed during an interview with Variety last month.
The Emmy winner recalled that while she and the rest of the cast had no issues with the audience’s reactions: “Lisa Kudrow, by the way, hated when the audience laughed.”
“That’s not exactly [true],” Lisa insisted to ET. “It irritated me if they would laugh for too long.”
She continued: “God bless them. They were so excited to be there that sometimes the laughter would just be longer than if they would have laughed at anything else.
“I was like, ‘All right, well, take it easy. It’s not that funny. And there’s more to say!’.”
Lisa Kudrow via Associated Press
However, Lisa did confirm that one story Jen told during her Variety interview was true.
The Along Came Polly star claimed that in Friends’ early days, she and the late Matthew Perry once surprised Lisa by showing up to a salon where she was getting her hair done.
“I snuck up – she was in the sink – and I took the nozzle from the guy that was supposed to be doing it and just started washing her hair,” she recalled.
“It definitely flew out of control, and that was unfortunate. But the excitement we had, it feels like yesterday.”
Lisa confirmed this anecdote to be true, revealing it was on a day the group had received some major news about Friends’ future.
The cast of Friends pictured at the height of the show's success NBC via NBCUniversal via Getty Images
“That did really happen,” she shared. “I think they were just so excited because something happened – we heard we got picked up or we heard we were going to the upfronts – and so they just couldn’t stand that we weren’t all together.
“So, they came to where I was getting my hair done and visited. And yeah, I think Jen did wash my hair. It was thrilling! That’s how excited [we were], it was like puppies.”
Last month, Lisa told The Hollywood Reporter that she’d begun rewatching Friends for the first time following the death of Matthew Perry in 2023.
“I wasn’t able to watch it [before[ because it’s too embarrassing to watch yourself,” she said. “But if I make it about Matthew, then that’s OK.
“And it’s just celebrating how hilarious he was – and that is what I want to remember.”
