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During a powerful panel discussion with female showrunners, “Friends” and “Grace and Frankie” creator Marta Kauffman teared up when asked about what she wished she’d known when she started her career. “I wish I knew then what I know today,” Kauffman, 63, said during an ATX TV…from the Couch panel, as she apologized for tearing …
During a powerful panel discussion with female showrunners, “Friends” and “Grace and Frankie” creator Marta Kauffman teared up when asked about what she wished she’d known when she started her career.
“I wish I knew then what I know today,” Kauffman, 63, said during an ATX TV…from the Couch panel, as she apologized for tearing up. “Sorry, I just wish I knew then what I know now. I would’ve made very different decisions.”
She continued, “I mean we’ve always encouraged people of diversity in our company, but I didn’t do enough and now all I can think about is what can I do? What can I do differently? How can I run my show in a new way? And that’s something I not only wish I knew when I started showrunning, but I wish I knew all the way up through last year.”
Over the years, “Friends” has been widely criticized for its lack of diversity.
Earlier this year, David Schwimmer told The Guardian, “I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of color.”
Earlier in the conversation, “Vampire Diaries” showrunner Julie Plec commented that shows that people are flocking to for comfort — like “Vampire Diaries,” Gossip Girl,” Dawson’s Creek” and “Gilmore Girls” — are made up of predominantly white cast members.
“That has been the hardest pill for me to swallow, is that I’m part of that group,” she said.
Responding later to Kauffman, “A Black Lady Sketch Show” creator Robin Thede said, “You guys are just as much a part of systemic racism as well because it’s a system. That’s what I keep telling people. It’s not one person being racist ruining everything, it’s a system that was set up by racists to encourage and teach racism and disguise it. No one was supposed to know it was wrong, that was the point. We were supposed to look like we were yelling for no reason. We were supposed to look like kneeling was an offense to the flag and not a cry to stop killing us. We’re supposed to be made to look bad and now people know better and when you know better, you do better and that’s all that people are asking for.”
