The Friends Scenes That Went Too Far
"Friends" is one of the most beloved sitcoms of all time, and continues to bring new fans in droves as it's become readily available to stream online 24 hours a day. For 10 seasons, Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), and Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) navigate work, friendship, and romantic relationships that frequently intertwine with one another. When the series begins, the group are all in their mid-20s, so it makes sense that they often discuss sex, which might make for some uncomfortable moments if you're watching "Friends" alongside your parents. That said, though, most of the time, the series doesn't cross the line.
Notice how we said "most of the time." Even though it's a largely family-friendly sitcom about dealing with life and love in New York City, "Friends" isn't always squeaky-clean. There are two scenes from "Friends" that stick out amongst all the others — ones that fans watching back then thought went too far and fans today still talk about.
In Season 7, one Friends scene crossed a major line
In "Friends" Season 7, Episode 18, entitled "The One with Ross and Monica's Cousin," Denise Richards cameos as Ross and Monica's cousin — if you couldn't tell from the name of the episode. Richards plays Cassie, a gorgeous blond who dazzles almost everyone she comes into contact with, especially as she tosses her hair from side to side. While staying with Monica and Chandler, Cassie has to leave because Chandler can't stop staring at her. Cassie goes to stay with Ross instead, but the situation only gets worse as thought nearly turns to action.
Simply put, Ross is attracted to Cassie — his literal cousin — in the same way Chandler is, and toys with the idea of making a move on her. Viewers are treated to Ross' cringe-inducing inner monologue as he debates going in for a kiss. To everyone's shock and horror, Ross eventually does try to lock lips with Cassie while they're sitting on the couch and watching a movie. Cassie pulls back in absolute disgust, and when she asks Ross what's wrong with him, he responds by saying, "I haven't had sex in a very long time."
That's no excuse even if the person you're trying to smooch isn't your cousin, and the fact that Ross and Cassie truly are blood-related makes the moment so much worse. Journalist and "Black Gals Livin'" podcast co-host Victoria Sanusi spoke for the masses when she tweeted, accompanied by a string of queasy-face emojis, "Ross kissed his cousin ... I've had enough of this man."
The attempted kiss with Cassie made Metro's list of the 10 times Ross was "actually the worst human being ever." Writer Tilly Pearce argued, "Not only were Ross' actions toward her a little predatory, having her move into his apartment after Chandler and Joey started getting weird, they were bordering on the incestuous. He was also the only one to actually make a move on her, which again, all kinds of gross and just, ugh, let's move on from this already because we've got the creeps."
Additionally, this scene felt really out-of-place within the "Friends" world. As Decider so aptly put it, "'Friends' is one of the most critically and commercially successful sitcoms of all time, which is why it is ... UTTERLY INSANE that the series aired an episode in which Ross tried to bang his cousin."
Another moment with Ross went too far
Even the most ardent of "Friends" fans have pinned Ross Geller as being the worst of the bunch, so it's unfortunately no surprise that another of the series' scenes that went too far has Ross at its center.
In the Season 10 episode "The One Where the Stripper Cries," Ross and Monica learn that they kissed one another back in college. As Ross tells it, it was a weekend in 1987 when Monica and Rachel visited Ross and Chandler at school. Chandler ended up kissing Rachel that night, and Ross is only finding out about it now. He's upset because it was the same night he kissed Rachel for the first time ... or so he thought. Ross believed that it was Rachel lying on his bed, buried under a pile of other people's coats, and when he went to kiss her forehead, he "accidentally got her lips" since it was so dark. "Rachel" kissed him back, and the moment was forever cemented in Ross' memory as part of his and Rachel's love story.
When Ross recounts the events of the evening, Chandler is confused since he knows Rachel was sleeping in his bed, not Ross'. And Monica? She's horrified, realizing that her brother was her "midnight mystery kisser" and her "first kiss ever."
Though the kiss happened off screen, viewers were still disgusted at the plot point. One fan on Twitter wrote, "Why did they do that? So painfully gross." Another tweeted, "That moment when Ross and Monica kissed when Ross was in college... #ew." Couldn't have said it better ourselves.