Lisa Kudrow recalls emotional impact of Friends after 9/11 attacks; Says comedy gave people comfort and escape during tragedy

Hollywood actress Lisa Kudrow is walking down the memory lane. The actress has shared that she still gets "a little emotional" remembering how her iconic sitcom 'Friends' impacted people after 9/11.

The actress, who essayed the role of Phoebe Buffay in the sitcom, understood that the series gave people a sense of escapism following the horrific terrorist attacks on the United States, which claimed the lives of 2,977 victims, reports 'Female First UK'.

She told 'Vanity Fair', "After 9/11, I understood how important entertainment really is, and how important comedies are, and how important Friends was to people because we do need that escape".

The actress, who portrayed the quirky and optimistic singer-songwriter and masseuse on all 10 seasons of 'Friends', recalled emotional meetings with fans after the events of September 11.




Lisa, 62, said, "I would drive home from the set, from Friends, and people, you're at a stoplight, and the car next to you, someone would look over and go, 'Ahh'. After 9/11, it still gets me a little emotional, I have to say. Someone would look over and just go, 'Thank you', like, about to cry, and just say, 'Thank you'. And I fully understood what they meant".

this proved to her just how much entertainment can impact people.

Lisa added, "That's when I think I really took it in, you know, what these shows do mean to us. And (I) felt very proud to be contributing to a break for people".

As per 'Female First UK', she realised that people were getting a "mental health service" because of 'Friends', which ran from 1994 until 2004. But for Lisa, it was the sitcom 'Will and Grace' that provided her comfort in the aftermath of 9/11.

In 2023, she told 'People' magazine, "After 9/11, all I was doing was watching the news and every single thing I saw was someone who knew someone that was in one of the towers or something like that. I started watching Will + Grace, and I said, 'Oh, OK. Oh, I wonder, they're in New York. Oh God, they're in New York. I wonder who they knew in the buildings, if they knew anyone'. Then I went, 'Oh, no, wait, no, because they would've shot this before 9/11. You work in that TV, you know. Don't be an idiot'. Then I went, 'No, no. This is fiction. In this world, it didn't even happen'".

"I just needed that break, and I was so grateful that there was something to watch where 9/11 hadn't happened at all. It was a break that I really needed", she added.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”