‘Friends’ Actor Recalls Racist Incident While Filming Sitcom: “Nobody Felt the Need to Correct This”

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1990s television star, Stephen Park, is reflecting on a racially charged event that occurred during his time working on the popular sitcom “Friends.”

Actor from the show “Friends,” Stephen Park, is reminiscing about a racist episode he encountered while filming in the 1990s.)

The actor reminisced about their time on the sitcom, as they had starred in two episodes: “The One with the Chicken Pox” from season two and “The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion” from season three, during a recent broadcast of the Pod Meets World podcast.

At that point in time, Park described Friends as having a somewhat poisonous atmosphere. James Hong, who was in the same episode with him, was the actor being addressed, and the assistant director kept summoning him, essentially shouting, ‘Where’s the Asian guy? Bring the Asian guy here.’

Mickey 17’s actor stated he recognized “this surpasses the scope of this production” as “it’s not the first occurrence like this, you understand, but in this setting, such incidents were common practice in Hollywood back in 1997, I suppose. No one felt compelled to challenge it or comment on it. So, this is typical behavior within the industry.

Following the incident, an indignant Park decided to share his story publicly. He related that when he contacted the Screen Actors Guild afterwards, the representative advised him to pen an article for the L.A. Times. He composed a mission statement and submitted it to the newspaper. Subsequently, two reporters interviewed him, but the piece was never published in the L.A. Times.

At that point, Park chose to distribute his open letter (which is still accessible online) and shared his “mission statement with those on my email contacts list.” Additionally, although he asserted that it spread like wildfire before ‘viral’ was even a term, this entire encounter significantly altered his viewpoint about the industry.

In Asteroid City, the actor confessed that he had become excessively sensitive towards race and enraged, causing him to perceive everything through a racial lens. He admitted feeling trapped with no sense of liberation. Not knowing what his next move would be, he chose to withdraw from acting, announcing to everyone, ‘I’m quitting acting.’

After taking a year off, I made a gradual return to the industry when I was given an opportunity to audition for a role. Throughout my career, I’ve been fortunate enough to work on numerous projects such as “Ghosted,” “The Mindy Project,” and “Law & Order.

Hey there! Back in the ’90s and early 2000s, I was an avid follower of a classic sitcom that graced our screens for a decade, from 1994 to 2004. Known as “Friends,” it featured an incredible ensemble cast led by Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and the late, great Matthew Perry. Unfortunately, we lost him in 2023.

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2025-03-06 04:54