There is no doubt that FRIENDS set the bar higher for the sitcoms. But that didn’t make the series any less controversial than the other competing sitcoms of the contemporary times.

Here are a few for you...

1. Although it has been praised by the critics for its dashing decision to include a lesbian love story in their storyline and even to get them married it has also become the most controversial part. They received a huge backlash from the fans. They even received hate mails from the audience.
   
2. It’s not an exaggeration that Chandler Bing became a household name after Matthew Perry’s portrayal of this role. But he has been tagged a drug addict when the news about his addiction issues came out. It even became noticeable in his physical appearance with the change of his weight. He continues to struggle with the addiction even to this day.
   
3. Charles Bing or Helena Handbasket who played the role of Chandler’s father has portrayed the role of a transgender. The show got praised for the diversity it showcased but didn’t save it from being critiqued. The critics even made note of the way how Chandler was ashamed of his father, how he was insecure and uncomfortable to reveal the sexual identity of his father.
4. FRIENDS has been allegedly accused of being copied from a famous sitcom, Living Single, which portrays the life of six young African-American friends. It got aired just 13 months before FRIENDS. Both critics and fans noticed the similarities and credit Living Single for the templates used in FRIENDS. Amidst all the accusations, the makers have always denied the claims and asserted time and again that the show was original.
5. In the episode named “TheOne After The Superbowl” Brook Shields can be seen as a guest. Andre Agassi, Shield’s now ex-husband, lost his mind when he had seen the scene in which Shield can be seen licking the fingers of Joey. It was even rumored that he broke his Wimbledon trophies agitated by this scene.
6. The show was bashed when in an episode it was shown that Monica kisses her brother, Ross. Although the brother and sister relationship has been termed bizarrely intimate right from the beginning of the show, this kiss-reveal scene has obviously raised a lot more eyebrows. Ross, giving his sister Monica, seduction tips is another most debated topic.
   
7. A particular part was clipped out from the entire episode in “The One Where Rachel tells Ross”. It was the episode where Rachel reveals about her pregnancy to Ross and Monica and Chandler gets competitive over other couples on their honeymoon. In the original version of this episode, Chandler ruins their happy moment where they get a first-class upgrade with his joke about bombs in the airport. Overhearing this, security takes both Chandler and Monica to the inquiry. The episode was actually set to air in October 2001, just after 30 days after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Hence, the episode had to be removed, and the reshot rushed.