Random Character On 'Friends' Is a Really Bad Friend (18 items)

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  (#1) When Everyone Shows Up Late To Phoebe's Birthday Dinner

  In episode 5 of Season 9 - "The One With Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner" - Phoebe decides to lavishly celebrate her birthday with dinner at a fancy restaurant. Her beau may have to work, but her friends had all agreed to join her. Joey is the only one who shows up on time and the two sit for so long that they're asked to move to a smaller table. Both other couples are caught up in separate arguments over children and plans, that they cease to acknowledge they're letting one of their best friends down on her special day. After waiting even longer for her other friends to show, Phoebe ends up having to leave the dinner without eating or celebrating to find happiness in a calmer setting away from her pals.

  Monica, Chandler, Rachel, and Ross all let themselves be too self-absorbed in their own issues to set aside time to help another friend have a great night.
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  (#2) When The Group Doesn't Appreciate Monica's Thanksgiving Dinner

  Monica cooks an extravagant Thanksgiving dinner every year for her friends. And somehow every year it's messed up by something - mocking Monica, throwing her under the bus for something or other, or showing up late in blatant disregard for all her hard work. 

  In Season 1: Monica cooks different kinds of potatoes just to appease her friends. In response, her friends mock her when she says she feels overwhelmed and then show no sympathy when her food is ruined. 

  In Season 4: Monica cooks a full meal even after accidentally stabbing herself in the eye. Again, her friends mock her. 

  In Season 6: Monica and Ross’s parents visit for the holiday and their mysterious resentment toward Chandler comes up. (Spoiler: Ross used to blame Chandler for smoking.) Instead of allowing Monica and Chandler to enjoy Thanksgiving, Ross milks the truth and throws Monica under the bus unashamedly.

  In Season 10: Monica finally tells her friends she’s not cooking this year. However, after guilt-tripping her into doing it anyway, everyone shows up late: Rachel and Phoebe take Emma to a beauty pageant and Ross and Joey go to a Rangers game.
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  (#3) When Phoebe Makes Fun Of Chandler At Work After He Helps Her Get A Job

  Phoebe marches to the beat of her own drum, or, rather guitar. Having grown up homeless and on the streets, her means of making a living have historically been unconventional. In Season 1, episode 22, "The One With The Ick Factor," Chandler helps Phoebe out by getting her a job as his temporary secretary. While fraternizing with the other lower-level employees, Phoebe discovers that none of the others have liked Chandler since he got his most recent promotion. Instead of defending Chandler, or attempting to make him look better in the eyes of his subordinates, Phoebe joins them in their mockery of her friend; submitting to the idea that there’s no hope. 

  Ultimately, this works to Chandler’s advantage as he comes to terms with his position. However, Phoebe’s actions are undeniably two-faced. For someone who usually preaches the beauty of obscurity, why submit to such a toxic and institutionalized idea?
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  (#4) When Monica Dates 'Fun Bobby,' Makes Him Sober Up, And Then Drinks Around Him Because He Is Now 'Ridiculously Dull Bobby'

  Monica dates the social and hilarious “Fun Bobby" on and off in Seasons 1 and 2 of Friends. In the 10th episode of Season 2, "The One With Russ," the group notices that Bobby is perpetually drinking. Concerned, Monica convinces him to quit, but it turns out, sober Bobby isn’t as much fun. The group then dubs him “Ridiculously Dull Bobby” behind his back. On top of this, Monica starts drinking to deal with how dull he's become, which is a pretty insensitive thing to do around a recovering alcoholic. 

  Bobby was really just a people pleaser. He was constantly trying to live up to the nickname "Fun Bobby," but by convincing him to change his ways and then rejecting him for who is he afterward in a way that's extremely insensitive is the ultimate low.
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  (#5) When Chandler Kisses Joey’s Girlfriend, Kathy

  This show has a huge “bro code” problem. Joey, Chandler, and Ross claim to acknowledge these guidelines but seldom adhere to them: Ross kissed Chandler’s mom, Chandler slept with Joey’s sister, and Joey tried to get with Rachel after her turbulent relationship with Ross. All of the aforementioned violations are worth noting. However, it’s arguably Chandler’s Season 4 betrayal of Joey that takes the cake.

  In episode 7, "The One Where Chandler Crosses The Line," Chandler kisses Joey’s girlfriend, Kathy. Now, Chandler did try to fight his feelings for Kathy for a long time, but he also tried to manipulate Joey into dumping Kathy. When that doesn’t happen, Chandler ends up giving in to his feelings... even if only for a second. Chandler confesses all of this to Joey in a fashion that can accurately be described as “too little too late.” Even the viewer knows all Chandler had to do was come to Joey at the start and he probably would have stepped aside.

  Although Chandler makes things up to Joey about spending six hours in a box and Joey allows Chandler to see Kathy, Chandler’s melodramatic and premediated indignity jeopardized his friendship with Joey for seemingly no reason.
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  (#6) When No One Except Phoebe Is Ready For Ross' Black Tie Event At The Museum

  In "The One Where No One’s Ready" in Season 3, Ross invites all of his friends to an important function at the museum he works at. Not unlike how the group is late for Phoebe's birthday dinner in Season 9, Ross arrives at Monica’s apartment to find that only Phoebe is ready to leave. Chandler and Joey get in an argument over a chair - which results in a stain on Pheobe's dress - Monica gets wrapped up in some Richard-related hi-jinks, and Rachel takes forever to get ready, resulting in more Ross and Rachel conflict.

  This is just one example of how little these friends can care about the others' feelings.
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  (#7) When Rachel Goes To England With The Intention Of Ruining Ross' Wedding

  Their status as dysfunctional, on-again, off-again love interests aside, Ross and Rachel were friends first. Even so, they never seem to support the others’ relationships. 

  For the majority of Season 4, the characters focus on moving on; Rachel moves in on Joshua and Ross falls for Emily. As soon as Ross decides to get married, Rachel decides she’s not done with him yet. 

  Instead of seeing Ross’s obvious happiness, and supporting it, Rachel’s initial reaction is selfish. She immediately makes up an excuse not to go to London and attend the wedding. Then, she decides she’s going to go to London and tell him she’s still in love with him - which will essentially ruin the entire wedding. Thankfully, when she finally arrives in London, she decides not to tell Ross how she feels and let's him follow his heart instead. But that doesn't dismiss the 10-plus hours of travel she made with poor intentions.
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  (#8) When Rachel Convinces Bonnie To Shave Her Head

  Episode 25 of Season 3 - 'The One At The Beach" - sees Ross and Rachel at the height of their will they/won’t they post “we were on a break!” drama. Rachel being jealous of Ross’s girlfriend and, knowing how superficial Ross is, convinces her that shaving her head (something Bonnie has enjoyed in the past) is a good idea. Ross reacts accordingly, giving Rachel the romantic edge.  

  To be fair, it probably is a good idea; if it makes Bonnie happy, more power to her. However, Rachel’s motives are less than admirable. Bonnie is not only a longtime friend of Phoebe's but, at the very least, a friendly acquaintance of Rachel. Also, nothing can justify how Rachel and Ross make fun of Bonnie’s “5 'o’clock shadow” afterward.
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  (#9) When Phoebe Keeps Joey From Earning Money By Destroying Christmas Trees

  Being a struggling actor isn’t all red carpets and private jets - Joey doesn’t live the high life in Friends. In Season 3, episode 10, "The One Where Rachel Quits," Joey gets a job selling Christmas trees around the holiday season. Gotta pay the bills, right? One day, Phoebe visits him while he is on the job and becomes disgusted by the fact that the old trees, that don’t sell, get thrown in the chipper. This leads her to obnoxiously and repeatedly promote the sale of these dead trees that actively cuts into the cash Joey is able to make. He evens begs her to stop: "Phoebs, you gotta stop doing this. I'm working on commission here!"

  Preaching the importance of Mother Nature is one thing but embarking on a self-righteous crusade in a friend’s place of work is another; is she indifferent to the fact that Joey has bills to pay? In the end, the gang gives in to Phoebe's selfish behavior and buys her all of the dead trees. So much for Joey’s commendable pursuit of coin.
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  (#10) When The Other Friends Laugh At ‘Fat Monica’ In Her Prom Dress

  In retrospect, Friends’ whole “fat-shaming Monica” gag hasn’t aged well. Not only does everyone make fun of her for those retroactive gains - including her future husband - but the show acts as if skinny Monica is somehow better than “Fat Monica.” Monica’s weight and a subsequent eating disorder are clearly traumatic issues for the character. 

  The first and perhaps the crown champion of fat-shaming moments comes in the 14th episode of Season 2 - "The One With The Prom Video." In it, Monica finds a home video of her and Rachel getting ready for their senior prom. When “Fat Monica” comes on screen, Joey exclaims, “some girl ate Monica!” The group is quickly in hysterics, except for Monica, who just tells them to stop laughing.  

  The whole home-video plot point seems to exist to bring Ross and Rachel together over his past chivalry. What fades into the background is the story of a teenage girl, who most likely was teased throughout high school, just trying to feel pretty on prom night.
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  (#11) When Joey Attempts To Sabotage Another Actor

  In Season 3 in "The One With The Race Car Bed," Joey gets a job teaching soap acting to aspiring thespians. Having been Dr. Drake Ramoray on Days of our Lives, Joey is able to educate his students on the essentials: smell the fart acting and the appropriate implementation of tweezers and long division. Joey really seems to enjoy the job until one of his students starts auditioning for the same part he's up for. That student reads lines with Joey and he’s incredible, so much so that Joey can’t compete. Instead of being a good friend and mentor, Joey gives him absolutely horrible advice knowing the student will listen to him, and he ultimately doesn't get the job, leaving the position up for grabs.
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  (#12) When Chandler And Joey Try To Get Rid Of Ross As Their Roommate

  Early in Season 5 in "The One Where Ross Moves In," Ross gets kicked out of his apartment because of the whole Emily situation. Having nowhere else to turn, Joey and Chandler allow Ross to move in with them. Ross buys an air purifier (and asks Joey and Chandler help pay for it), makes quiet-time gestures, records a corny message on their answering machine, and tapes over Joey’s Baywatch - all things that annoy his new roommates to no end.

  Instead of talking to Ross about their grievances, Joey and Chandler rush Ross’s search for a new home; taking him to an awful studio apartment and then trying to convince him to live there. Ross sees right through this and, dejected, agrees to move out. Having been selfish and shortsighted, Joey and Chandler immediately feel guilty about how they treated Ross. To make it right, they sabotage his applicant for the apartment by telling the landlord that he’s a pimp (among other things). When they finally talk to Ross, his response says it best: 

  Ross: So I'm a pimp, huh? It's okay. Look, I know sometimes I can be a pain in the [butt]. But you just have to talk to me. Tell me if something bothers you, okay. And, for my part, I'll really do everything I can to keep my annoying habits, you know, just - *quiet gesture*
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  (#13) When The Group Doesn't Know Chandler's Job

  For a good portion of Friends, Chandler works in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration. The work is not fulfilling but pays very well. Maybe it’s Chandler’s lack of enthusiasm or maybe it’s just the convoluted nature of his work, but Chandler’s friends never seem to know what his actual job is. In the 12th episode of Season 4, "The One With The Embryos," this works to Chandler and Joey’s advantage when Rachel and Monica are unable to name Chandler’s job in trivia - which ultimately loses them the beloved apartment. However, right before his moment of triumph, Chandler's facial expression is is the equivalent of "huh?" 

  Chandler has abandonment issues: His mother was never really there for him, and his father was wrapped up in all sorts of things. It’s only when he finds Monica and feels actual support that she convinces him to quit his job and pursue something more meaningful - a thought Chandler had danced with before. You could argue that one of the reasons Chandler wastes so much time at a meaningless job is because none his friends even cared enough to know what he did for a living - which can’t be great for his self-esteem.
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  (#14) When Ross Pretends To Be Ugly Naked Guy's Friend

  In Season 5 in "The One Where Everybody Finds Out," the “Ugly Naked Guy” across the street decides to move out of his luxurious New York apartment. Ross, having been living with Joey and Chandler, needs an apartment and thinks this may be the perfect opportunity. In order to gain favor with the notorious neighbor, Ross attempts to bribe Ugly Naked Guy into letting him take over - that means faking a friendship. He appeals to Ugly Naked Guy's need for companionship by stripping down and sharing some muffins.

  While working his whiles may not seem like the worst thing Ross could have done, because Ugly Naked Guy isn't brought up in any later episodes, we're left to assume that once Ross acquired the apartment, he dropped the act and Ugly Naked Guy, which could have seriously exacerbated Ugly Naked Guy's feeling of alienation.
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  (#15) When Chandler Tries To Avoid Janice By Flying To Yemen

  Janice is the voice heard 'round the world, and while she's often in the show for comedic annoyance, she is a good person. She always seems to be there for people (including Ross), and tries to be a good friend to the titular group. That said, the group can’t stand her. They mock her and rue the days she graces them with her presence. The worst part of all of this is that they express all these feelings about Janice behind her back, never once respecting her enough to just say it to her face. While Ross, Rachel, Monica, Joey, and Phoebe all have their poor moments with Janice, Chandler takes the cake. 

  Early in the series, Chandler dates Janice off and on, which solidifies her position in the group: the ex that keeps hanging around. Midway through Season 4, in "The One With All The Rugby," Chandler runs into Janice, and her feelings for him come flooding back. Instead of being honest about wanting to break up, Chandler makes up an excuse as to why they can't keep seeing each other: he’s moving to Yemen for work. Janice is heartbroken. She even goes with him to the airport to see him off, so to really sell the lie, Chandler boards the plane.
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  (#16) When Joey and Chandler Help Ross Make A Pro And Con List For Choosing Rachel Or Julie

  After Rachel and Ross kiss for the first time - while Ross is still dating Julie - Ross has to decide between his current girlfriend and the girl he believes is his dream girl. Early in Season 2 in ‘The One With The List," Chandler and Joey try to help Ross decide between the two women by printing up a list of their flaws. Ross comes up with a number of flaws he sees in Rachel, including: “spoiled, ditsy, too into her looks, and just a waitress.” The boys have a harder time coming up with specific flaws for Julie before listing the single issue as: “she’s not Rachel.”

  In retrospect, if Julie's major flaw was that she wasn't Rachel - and that's who Ross truly wanted to choose in this dilemma - then why come up with flaws he sees in Rachel at all? Yes, friends typically see shortcomings in each other more clearly than most others would be able to, so it's not shocking they were able to come up with some points for the list, but that's no reason to unnecessarily point them out. In addition to merely saying them out loud, the boys write them down, leaving the perfect opportunity for Rachel to find them and learn how Ross truly feels about her.
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  (#17) When Chandler Uses Eddie’s Mental Illness To Get Rid Of Him As A Roommate

  In the second season of Friends, Joey moves out of his and Chandler’s apartment, leaving Chandler to look for a new roommate (not that he needs one with all that statistical analysis and data reconfiguration money). Enter Eddie. In the beginning, the two seemingly hit it off, referring to each other as "bud." But things quickly go downhill: Eddie watches Chandler while he sleeps, imagines conversations that never happened, is apocalyptic forgetful, and enjoys spending time with human mannequin heads. 

  All of this frightens Chandler, prompting him to demand Eddie move out of the apartment. Unfortunately, Eddie is so plagued by his mental instability that the idea just doesn’t seem to resonate with him. A supposed lifetime of rejection and abandonment seems to have made Eddie latch on even more as he just can't fathom losing another friend. Instead of getting Eddie help or finding a more pragmatic option to rid himself of Eddie, Chandler allows Joey to move back in behind Eddie’s back. When Eddie comes home to find his stuff outside and the door locked, Chandler pretends not to know him. Eddie accepts this and apologies, thinking he has the wrong apartment - wandering off into the night, never to be seen again.  
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  (#18) When Monica And Chandler Make Joey Hide Their Relationship 

  Let’s face it, Monica and Chandler are the couple we never saw coming - with Ross and Rachel at the forefront. In all of the excitement over their budding romance after London, it's easy to miss what their secret romance did to Joey.

  When Joey puts the pieces together, Monica and Chandler force him into secrecy, which put the gentle-hearted Joey through the ringer. By keeping it to himself, Joey had to take the blame for Chandler’s underwear being at Monica’s by saying “I’m Joey. Yeah, I'm disgusting, I take my underwear off in other people's homes.” While Joey's actions may have been those of friendship, Chandler and Monica should not have put him through that for their own gain.

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