This Guest Character On Friends Was The Absolute Worst
Over the course of Friends' ten seasons, the popular sitcom a developed long list of guest characters. Some of them are downright hilarious, like Danny DeVito serving as a stripper at Phoebe's (Lisa Kudrow) bachelorette party. Some of them blew our minds, like Helen Hunt crossover appearance as her Mad About You character, Jamie Buchman. And some characters were just oddly appropriate, like Brad Pitt showing up as the president of the I Hate Rachel Club, given that the actor was married to the actress who brought Rachel Green to life, Jennifer Aniston, at the time.
Then there are the guest characters that fans wish they could wipe from their memories; most of these came in the form of boyfriend or girlfriend of one of the Friends main cast. It wasn't that these guest stars were bad actors, or played total weirdos like Phoebe's brief boyfriend Parker (Alec Baldwin), it's that some of them did downright sketchy things. Emily (Helen Baxendale) has been hailed as one of the worst guest characters to ever appear on the show, but there's another Friends significant other who has her fair share of haters to this day. Kathy, played by the lovable Paget Brewster of Criminal Minds fame, caused quite a stir among Friends fans for the way she treated Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Chandler (Matthew Perry).
Kathy almost destroyed one of Friends' strongest relationships
Kathy was introduced as the somewhat-girlfriend of Joey in season 4, and Chandler was smitten with her right away. The funny guy actually flirted with her before he knew she was connected to his roommate, and things got tense soon after. As Friends fans know, Chandler and Kathy shared a passionate kiss while she was still dating Joey, and eventually, the pair ended up together after Joey got over his hurt feelings. But as the saying goes: "How you got 'em is how you'll lose 'em," and Kathy cheated on Chandler a few episodes later, ending her storyline on the show.
There are dozens of internet debates in which fans of the popular series argue whether Kathy was a good character or if she was one of the worst. In one Reddit thread, the original poster, user MCofPort, called the hairdresser "toxic" and responding commenters explain that they don't understand the support Chandler and Kathy's relationship gets from some viewers. Joey and Chandler's friendship was almost decimated by Kathy cheating on the former with the latter. The roommates had several fights throughout the show, but the Kathy issue was by far pair's biggest hiccup. Joey was so upset by the betrayal that he began to pack up and planned on moving in with his parents while he tried to look for another place. He told Chandler he couldn't live in the apartment anymore because it was "tainted" by his friend who had bought all new furniture and electronics due to his guilt.
Eventually, Joey came up with the brilliant idea to have Chandler spend some time in a wooden box to think about what he did on Thanksgiving. The two reconciled, but it wasn't the last of Kathy's destruction.
Kathy put Chandler in one of his lowest points on Friends
Kathy essentially devastated two of the main characters on Friends and drove Chandler into depression. His break-up with Kathy resulted in one of the lowest lows he is seen in throughout the show's run, with Chandler taking the uncoupling harder than Ross (David Schwimmer) did with most of his marriages. Chandler couldn't bring himself to shower, change out of sweatpants, or get out of his BarcaLounger for days due to Kathy's cheating. Even worse, her indiscretion made Chandler blame himself.
Initially, Chandler had accused Kathy of cheating on him before she actually did. He was intimidated by Nick, the jacked-up co-star with whom Kathy engaged in a sex scene during their play. After he accusied her of hooking up with Nick, the two took some time to cool down, at which point Kathy ends up falling into the arms of her onstage lover anyway. Once he finds out, Chandler blames himself and says he "threw her at his man nipples." Rachel tries to comfort Chandler tells him it wasn't his fault, but that didn't stop the major depression that followed. Kathy's effect on Joey, Chandler, and their friendship was far harsher than any of the blows other Friends guest characters delivered, and fans have every reason to still be upset with her over 20 years after she first initially showed up and nearly ruined everything.