As times and opinions change over the years, the books, films, and shows that were once popular begin to take on a different tone. TV skits from our parents' generation, for instance, can be quite uncomfortable to watch in the context of the modern day; and, if you pick up a novel from 100 years ago, you might just be a little shocked about how it talks about women or minorities.

Sometimes, however, you don't even have to go back too far. In fact, some of the most questionable material probably happened within our lifetimes. I mean, just take a look at Friends.

Personally, I love the show - but I can't help noticing some uncomfortable moments when I watch it back on Netflix. There's Joey's lecherous behavior (obviously), ongoing jokes about Chandler's sexuality, and an overwhelming absence of non-white characters.

Oh, and let's not forget that one episode where Ross literally goes to a self-defense instructor so that he can learn "how to attack women."

Actually, come to think of it, there's a whole lot more than that. Chandler's father - who is now a trans woman - is always the butt of the joke whenever she's mentioned or shown, Monica's weight managed to become a running gag for pretty much the entirety of the show's ten-year lifespan, and there's literally an entire episode dedicated to Ross trying to get his son to stop playing with Barbies.

So, when Matt LeBlanc was recently challenged about certain jokes and attitudes in the sitcom, everyone was keen to hear what he had to say.

Unfortunately, he was pretty quick to dismiss any allegations of wrongdoing.

"I've heard those rumors too about people taking pot shots at Friends, but I don't want to get into that," he said. "I disagree with all that."

He then went on to compare his role as Joey with his current job as a presenter on Top Gear (which, needless to say, has also had a relatively sketchy history when it comes to needlessly offending people), and insisted that both shows do their best to avoid "political content".

"On Top Gear we tend to steer clear of any sort of political content, nothing too topical. On Friends, we steered clear of that kind of thing, too. Friends was about themes that stand the test of time - trust, love, relationships, betrayal, family and things like that," he said.

The thing is, nobody was necessarily asking for an apology from LeBlanc - nor were they blaming him for some of the things Joey Tribiani said. More than anything, people just want some acknowledgment that the shows of yesteryear tended to be a teeny bit offensive sometimes - because that's the only way that the greater masses will also realize that, "hey, actually, it probably wasn't ok to make all those homophobic jokes in poor taste back then, and it's still not alright now."

Regardless, Friends still remains one of the best sitcoms ever - and we're still not giving up hope that there will be a reunion...

Matt LeBlanc has paid tribute to his beloved friend and co-star Matthew Perry.

The entertainment world was rocked by the tragic news that Perry had passed away at his Los Angeles home last month, leaving millions of his fans around the world devastated. He was just 54 years old.

Law enforcement sources have informed TMZ that there were no drugs or signs of suspected foul play at the scene. The coroner’s office has since confirmed that Perry's cause of death had been "deferred" at this time. This essentially means that an autopsy has been completed, but the examiner is now awaiting pending toxicology reports, a process that may take several weeks.

Best known for his role in the hit 90s sitcom Friends, Perry brought joy to millions of viewers - especially in his hilarious scenes with roommate Joey Tribianni - played by Matt LeBlanc.

Now, LeBlanc has taken to Instagram to share a personal heartfelt tribute to his late co-star.

Sharing snaps of the pair from the show, LeBlanc addresses his late friend as "Matthew", before writing: "It is with a heavy heart I say goodbye. The times we had together are honestly among the favorite times of my life.

"It was an honor to share the stage with you and to call you my friend. I will always smile when I think of you and I’ll never forget you. Never.

"Spread your wings and fly brother you’re finally free. Much love."

He then ended this post with a joke, adding: "And I guess you’re keeping the 20 bucks you owe me."

The post has quickly racked up a number of comments from grieving fans within minutes of it being uploaded. One fan wrote: "This just broke my heart all over again. I'm sorry you lost your friend, but I'm happy he's pain free."

Another added: "I’m so sorry for your loss, he was an incredible actor and person. He’ll always be with you, watching over and taking care. Much love, Matt! May your heart heal."

A third commented: "So sorry for your loss, @mleblanc ... Feels like ours, too, though. Matthew will be dearly missed by millions. But you got to be his friend, and I'm sure it aches too much. We are with you. Be at peace, now, Matty."

Perry's funeral was held in Los Angeles on November 3, with the star being buried a Forest Lawn cemetery, which is symbolically opposite the Warner Brothers studios where Friends was filmed for ten years.

The ceremony was private, with invites only extended to close family and friends - a total of approximately 20 were said to be at the function.

All five lead actors from the Friends cast - Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer - came to the funeral wearing black while sharing their grief for their friend.

Perry's family, devastated by his untimely death in late October, expressed their gratitude for the overwhelming support from fans across the globe.

In a statement to People, they shared their heartbreak: "We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother. Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend. You all meant so much to him, and we appreciate the tremendous outpouring of love."

Our thoughts continue to go out to all of Perry's fans, family, and friends at this time.

Featured image credit: David M. Benett / Getty

When you look back at Friends, you have to admit, it was a practically flawless show. Whereas other comedies tend to go downhill in the later seasons, the NBC sitcom remained hilarious from start to finish, with it still picking up new fans today, 14 years after the curtain fell.

However, not everyone would name the popular American comedy "flawless". In fact, it was recently revealed that one of its main stars actually had a massive problem with one storyline in particular.

This week, Friends executive producer Kevin S Bright admitted that Matt Le Blanc, who played ladies' man Joey Tribbiani hated one of his character's romantic entanglements on the show. And there are no big prizes for guessing which one: Joey and Rachel, of course.

Speaking to Digital Spy, Kevin said: "I can tell you this – in the beginning, Matt LeBlanc did not want to do that story. He was very firmly against it, saying that he's Ross's friend, and that the type of friend that Joey is would never go and take someone else's girlfriend."

The producer explained that it took "a lot of conversations" to convince LeBlanc to agree to the plot, while also acknowledging that the audience initially weren't too keen on the unexpected coupling either. Bright stated that the show's viewers eventually "got on board" after initially being "shocked" by the surprise coupling.

"I think, if she's not going to be with Ross, who else would you want her with?" he said. "That went okay with the audience. No big letters on that one!"

The shortlived romance between the two unlikely Friends has caused controversy from the moment it aired, with fans still debating whether it could have worked - or whether it should have existed in the first place - to this day.

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Back in 2017, Jennifer Aniston - who played Rachel Green - also spoke out against the storyline, claiming that, for her, it was "Ross and Rachel all the way".

"No! No, no. They tried!" she told Elle. "I think there was a moment when Joey and Rachel got together that maybe it could happen, but it didn't. It was Ross and Rachel all the way. I really believe that if there's an afterworld of Friends, they're still thriving. Don't you? I just don't think Joey and Rachel could have made it. I think it was more physical than emotional with them. They were friends with benefits, and they left it at that."

Her comments came after an 100-tweet thread that claimed Joey and Rachel should have ended up together went viral.  "In Defence of Rachel and Joey: A Thread" sparked controversy online, with fans who shipped Ross and Rachel, and fans who loved Joey and Rachel together, battling it out on Twitter.

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It looks like fans will be arguing about this one for quite some time to come.

As somebody who neither watched or liked Friends, I have always been against the idea of a Friends reunion. For people like myself - who are not fans of the show - the idea of a reunion would only bring about social exclusion. Imagine every conversation in the office, pub, cafe and restaurant - everybody would be talking about Friends. It's like when Game of Thrones is on; I have no idea what anyone is talking about.

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But while I may not be a fan of a reunion, a lot of people are. Fans of the show are desperate to see the gang get back together, however, their excitement may have just been squashed by Matt LeBlanc. LeBlanc, who played Joey on the show, has stated that he is not a fan of the idea of a reunion; echoing the sentiments of his co-star Jennifer Anniston, who had previously said:

"I don’t know what we would do? I think that period of time was sort of nostalgic, you know, there’s something about a time – and I think why people have such an affection for it – there was something about a time when our faces weren’t shoved into cell phones and we weren’t checking Facebook and Instagram.

"We were in a room together, or in a coffee shop together and we were talking. And we’ve lost that."

LeBlanc appears to agree with Anniston, in an interview with Brisbane’s 97.3 FM Bianca, Terry & Bob, the 50-year-old actor explained why he doesn’t like the idea of a reunion:

"I don’t think anybody wants to see Joey at his colonoscopy. I understand people really want to see that reunion, but that show was about a finite period in these six characters’ lives, between 20 and 30.

"I think everyone’s imagination of what they (the characters) are doing is better. It’s not any one person. I think it’s better to just leave it."

LeBlanc has previously spoken about Friends and the controversy that it has recently caused. Speaking about the negative press that the sitcom has received from Generation Z - with plenty of people labelling it as sexist and homophobic - the actor said:

"I’ve heard those rumours about people taking pot shots at Friends, but I don’t want to get into that. I disagree with all that. Friends steered clear of that kind of thing, too.

"Friends was about themes that stand the test of time – trust, love, relationships, betrayal, family and things like that.

"I don’t want to make jokes that make people go, ‘Ooh, that’s not my bag.’ I don’t like that. I run from that kind of stuff. Because that joke isn’t going to be relevant in six months.

"You talk about ‘Hey man, you lied to me,’ or ‘Wasn’t that fun? – that’ll always be relevant."

So there you have it, Friends fans - you won't be getting your poxy reunion after all. I, for one, couldn't be more delighted.

Fans of the hit show Friends have reacted to a magazine that was produced in 2004 which attempted to predict what the cast would look like in 2024.

Friends is arguably the greatest sitcom of all time, and even if that can't be agreed, it's definitely one of the most well-known.

In case you're unaware of what it is - the show follows a group of friends living in New York as they go through their lives in a pretty wild and hilarious manner.

The cast - Courtney Cox, David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, and Matt LeBlanc - were propelled to stardom overnight.

So it shouldn't come as a surprise that people tried to predict what they would look like 20 years down the line... even if they didn't get it spot on.

The spread from the 2004 Star magazine predicted that the actors would have embraced grayer locks and a somewhat "puffier" appearance.

Star claimed that Schwimmer "may go gray by age 57, but he won't lose any of his boyish charm".

When it comes to Aniston's character, Rachel, the mag predicted: "She'll be puffier, but Jennifer will always have great hair," which couldn't be further from modern-day Aniston, now 54.

Regarding LeBlanc's Joey, the magazine stated: "Matt will remain every bit the ladies' man at age 56," assuring fans of his enduring charisma.

As for Cox's Monica, the prediction was equally optimistic, stating: "Courteney will still be stylish in her late 50s."

However, the magazine didn't hold back when it came to Perry's Chandler. Star offered a tongue-in-cheek take, stating: "Behold the Matthew of 2024 - could he be any more jowly?" accompanied by an illustration of a receding hairline and grey hair.

Among the cast, Lisa Kudrow received the most favorable prediction, as the magazine declared: "Twenty years won't matter to Lisa, who'll still be flashing that cute smile."

Even though most of the predictions attempted to be complimentary, it's hard to see how any of the actors would be pleased with the images.

We're not quite in 2024 yet, but given that it's only a few months away it's fair to say that Star missed the mark - unless the actors have a really stressful end to 2023.

People couldn't hold in their shock, as one person tweeted: "Little did they know the advances that would be made in cosmetic surgery in the next 20 years," while a second questioned: "They all got attacked by bees?"

A third said: "They're all so flabby and stretched out and gray," while a fourth concluded: "Why in the heck would they make them look so old!"

Maybe the magazine should predict what the cast will look like in the next 20 years.

Featured image credit: Jim Smeal/Getty