“I felt it was kind of a toxic environment”: When a Friends guest star revealed the discrimination he faced and spoke out against Hollywood’s bias
Comedian and actor Stephen Park recently opened up about his time on the Friends set, stating that it was not the best place to work. He spoke about this on a podcast with Danielle Fishel, Rider Strong, and Will Friedle, titled Pod Meets World, which dropped on March 3, 2025.
When asked about his "mission statement," something he penned when he experienced racism on the Friends set, Park had some interesting things to say.
“At the time, for me, I felt it was kind of a toxic environment.”
He also noted that other actors of Asian descent, such as fellow actor James Hong, were treated similarly. On the podcast, Park remembered one time when Hong was addressed by someone on set in a racially insensitive manner, which was "essentially saying, you know, ‘Where the f--- is the Oriental guy? Get the Oriental guy.’ ”
What did Stephen Park say about facing toxicity and racism on the Friends set?
As previously mentioned, on a recent episode of the Pod Meets World podcast, Stephen Park opened up about how he felt while working on the set of Friends, which he called a toxic workplace. He talked about the statement he penned in response to the abuse he suffered. Park also revealed that other Asian actors went through the same abuse but did not speak up because they feared for their safety.
Park described how he had gone to report the incident to the Screen Actors Guild, who urged him to write to the L.A. Times. He did so and prepared a mission statement outlining his experience and that of countless racially marginalized people in the industry.
While L.A. Times reporters did interview him, they never published his statement. When he came to know of this, Park chose to send the statement to all his email contacts and requested them to forward it. He said that his statement was circulated widely and made several reputable publications ask for his consent to reshare it.
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What did Friends guest star Stephen Park say in his mission statement?
Stephen Park, in his mission statement published in 1997, spoke about the difficulties of getting work within the industry, being from a marginalized racial community as he is. He also emphasized the particular experience on the Friends set and stated:
"Working with the people involved with this show was an extremely painful experience for me. A disturbing lack in generosity of spirit and basic human courtesy, in addition to a racial incident on the set, has forced me to speak out."
He continued by saying:
"These people, by virtue of their status, money and power, are among the most privileged people walking the face of the earth, yet they behaved as if they were bankrupt in spirit and incapable of expressing simple human kindness. Not only did various key people on the set not have the courtesy to introduce themselves as we began to work together, they created an environment of fear and insecurity."
Apart from this, he also stated how he happened to be one of the few who believed that this was an issue since it was not a one-time incident. He had faced the same degree of racism on other sets, too, and also watched others from his community face the same.
He mentioned that this is the reason he felt compelled to speak out on the issue so that systemic change within the industry could be initiated.
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Stephen Park notably appeared in 2 episodes of Friends, according to People: “The One with the Chicken Pox” (season 2) and “The One with the Ultimate Fighting Champion" (season 3).
