"I didn’t feel very welcomed by the cast": When Kathleen Turner spoke about her "odd" experience on the set of Friends

Actress Kathleen Turner opened up in an exclusive interview with Vulture in August 2018. She discussed how she didn’t feel welcomed by the tight-knit cast of Friends. Kathleen played the role of Chandler’s transgender father Helena Handbasket in the popular sitcom. Recounting her experience on the set Kathleen said:

“I’ll be quite honest, which is my wont: I didn’t feel very welcomed by the cast.”

Kathleen elaborated on her experience. She said that she was dressed up in an intricate sequined gown and high heels, which made it difficult for her to stand. Strangely, none of the cast members offered her a chair to make herself comfortable. It was much later that a crew member demanded a chair be brought for Ms. Turner.

Kathleen Turner first appeared in the episode where Chandler and Monica flew down to Las Vegas to meet Helena at her drag show and formally invite her to their wedding. Later, she also appeared in the episodes of Chandler and Monica’s wedding.

The actress also noted that the cast of Friends was an extremely tight group, almost like a clique, which wasn’t very open or welcoming to anybody else. Kathleen Turner also added that her experience wasn’t uncommon when it came to people on the set feeling unwelcomed by the group. She said that the close-knit nature of the Friends cast didn’t leave much room to be bothered about anybody else.

In the interview, Kathleen Turner also touched upon how she appreciated and respected the togetherness of the cast, and it clearly reflected in their roles on the show as well.

Kathleen Turner has spoken about her time on Friends in various interviews. In a conversation with Gay Times, she also said that she didn’t think Friends did well over the years in terms of social commentary.

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Kathleen Turner thinks that she took away the role of Helena Handbasket from a true transgender

Kathleen Turner said in an interview with The Guardian that nobody questioned casting an actual drag queen or transgender person for the role of Helena Handbasket. She said:

“It never crossed my mind that I was taking a role from someone.”

Kathleen Turner also noted that, if asked to repeat a similar role in the current times, she would probably turn it down. She also said that she thoroughly enjoyed playing the challenging role of Helena Handbasket and doesn’t have any remorse about it, but would probably not take up a similar role in the current climate of LGBT awareness and rights.

In the interview with Gay Times, Kathleen said that the role of Helena was pitched to her as "the first woman playing a man playing a woman."

In an interesting observation by People Magazine, Kathleen’s character Helena was only referred to by the terms “drag queen” and “gay”. The term “transgender” was never used to refer to her character. Also, even though Helena was clearly a trans-woman on the show, the characters always referred to her as Chandler’s father.

Friends has been a phenomenon, loved by many all over the world, but through the lens of the current times, it has been scanned and criticized for its many shortcomings. From its lack of diversity to misgendering, Friends could have served as a social example had it gotten it right, and Marta Kauffman has agreed in several interviews that there is a lot that she has learned in the last 20 years.

Kathleen Turner’s Friends journey may have been tasking, but her role as Helena Handbasket is etched for eternity, especially her strong vocals belting out a nostalgic rendition of "It’s Raining Men."