As the old saying goes, an apology that’s given later is better than no apology given at all.
And in this case, the renowned creator of the hit series Friends is making headlines when she recently issued a $4 million apology for her lack of diversity.
Co-creator Marta Kauffman says she is going about admitting her failure and she’s not ashamed to say that yes, she was wrong and yes, she made a mistake.
The 65-year-old revealed how much she struggled to grasp the hard concept that she would be dealing with difficult and frustrating incidents and criticisms in her life for her television series.
“I always felt, deep down inside, that this show was being singled out for all the wrong reasons. But little did I know that I was the real one at fault”- the starlet continued while speaking to Los Angeles Times during an exclusive interview
It’s been almost 20 years since the show was last seen being wrapped up. And Kauffman revealed that her eyes have finally opened and she is now seeing the error in her ways.
“There is so much that I ‘ve learned in these two decades”- during her Zoom interview she claimed. In the same way, she says that admitting your mistake, taking the blame, and feeling guilty are just some of the hardest things in the world and it takes courage to do that.
“It’s not easy and I used to look at myself so painfully in the mirror. I was embarrassed because I had no clue. I should have known better, 25 years ago”- she added.
Yes, it’s the first time that she admits that there were no diverse characters. There was no one of color and NYC was simply portrayed as a white-washed locality.
It was only after the George Floyd incident that she came to the realization of her mistake that this is not what the US is about. It’s about a nation that promotes diversity and people of color are a huge part of the community that needs to be represented in shows like hers.