Lisa Kudrow Calls Ross a 'Bad Boyfriend' on 'Friends'—Why She Says Rachel Shouldn’t Have Reconciled

Lisa Kudrow has delivered a fresh take on the long-standing ‘Friends’ fan debate, declaring that Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel should never have reconciled with David Schwimmer’s Ross because he was “a bad boyfriend.”

Kudrow made the remarks during her appearance on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ on Monday, May 6, 2024, where she discussed ‘The Comeback’ Season 3. The conversation quickly shifted to ‘Friends’, with Fallon prompting Kudrow to share her latest perspective on the show’s most divisive question: Were Ross and Rachel really on a break?

“Well, no. But it’s beyond that. It’s beyond break or not. He was a bad boyfriend.”

As the audience applauded her statement, Kudrow responded with visible excitement: “You agree! Oh, I feel better.”

Reflecting on the ‘Friends’ reunion from a few years prior, Kudrow recalled the cast’s initial response to the break debate: “We were all like, ‘They were on a break! Rachel, that hysterical shrew! Not letting him sleep with someone and won’t get back with him.’”

She continued, “She shouldn’t have gotten back with him because he was horrible anyway!”

Kudrow didn’t stop there. She emphasized that Ross’s behavior—regardless of the number of women he slept with—was inexcusable: “I don’t care if he slept with three other women or no other women. You had a crisis at work so you weren’t available for a few nights and he flipped out? Like, wow.”

When Fallon playfully asked if she had shared this opinion directly with Schwimmer, Kudrow remained silent, prompting Fallon to joke, “He knows now!”

Watch the full exchange from ‘The Tonight Show’ below:

Video embed placeholder: [Full clip of the interview segment]

Behind the Scenes: The Iconic ‘Friends’ Fountain Scene

In the same interview, Kudrow shared an amusing anecdote about the making of the show’s famous opening credits. The cast had already filmed an episode when they were told to rush to the Warner Bros. Ranch—not the main lot—for the fountain scene.

“We had already shot a show, and it was late, and they went, ‘So now we’re just going to run over to the [Warner Bros.] Ranch.’ It wasn’t on the Warner Bros. lot,” Kudrow revealed. “[They said], ‘We’re just going to do the openings. It’ll be really quick.’ ‘Oh, okay.’ And it was not quick. Cut to: It’s gonna be daylight. We gotta hurry up and they just kept going, and then it was like, ‘Alright, now get in the fountain!’ ‘What?’”

Fallon asked which cast member was the first to dive into the fountain. Kudrow jokingly replied, “Some kiss ass.” She explained that the men initially tried to set the tone, but the cold water and frustration made it difficult: “One of the guys to show, like, ‘Yeah, I can handle everything!’ But we’re supposed to be laughing and everyone’s too cold and angry.”

Ultimately, it was the late Matthew Perry who salvaged the moment. Kudrow recalled, “But Matthew Perry made us laugh. We are laughing because Matthew was like, ‘What are we? Wet? What are we? In a fountain, dancing?’”