Late Night with Seth Meyers - Season 9© GettyImages

Lisa Kudrow’s son isn’t a fan of her character in ‘Friends’

“Never in my life have I wanted to tell my own kid, like, f— you!”


Senior Writer
JULY 20, 2022 2:11 PM EDT

Lisa Kudrow is one of the best part of “Friends”, even though not everyone seems to think so. In an appearance on “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” Kudrow talked about her son, Julian Murray, and his response to her performance.

Kudrow shares that her son started watching “Friends” when his school friends were watching it. He liked the show and was surprised by its humor. He just preferred the male characters. “He was impressed. He goes, ‘It’s actually really funny,‘” Kudrow said. “He said, ‘It’s actually really funny, and I mean, the guys are so funny.’ And he’s like, ‘No, I mean, you’re funny, too.’ And never in my life have I wanted to tell my own kid, like, f— you!”

While Kudrow assured Meyers that she didn’t say f— you to her son, she thought about it real hard. “I mean, listen, it’s not required that you’re a fan. You don’t have to like what I do,” she said. “But don’t be so demeaning! Wow!”

Still, despite Murray’s resistance to Phoebe on “Friends,” he still appreciates his mom’s work, being a fan of her less popular but equally hilarious show, “The Comeback.”

“[He] called me up and said, ‘So, I just watched the first two episodes. It’s really good, Mom.’ I said thanks, he said, ‘Can I ask you some questions about that?‘” Kudrow said. “Like, yes! I almost started crying! I didn’t think that anyone in my family liked that show.”

Kudrow played the role of Phoebe Buffay for 10 seasons, with her performance launching her career to new levels of fame. Despite “Friends”’ enormous cultural imprint, Kudrow has a variety of roles that are beloved by the comedy community, including her performance of Valerie Cherish in “The Comeback” and Michele, in “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.

Her new show “Who Do You Think You Are” is airing on NBC. The series is a reality program featuring different celebrities as they trace their family lineage with the help of historians and experts.