It’s not super common to have a sitcom with six main characters of equal billing, but that’s how Friends operated for its 10 seasons — with the cast ensuring their parity by sticking together during salary negotiations. Still, every fan has an opinion about who was their favorite and which Friend was the worst. You better believe Hollywood executives did too, and Lisa Kudrow got real about people seeing her as Friends’ least popular cast member also known as the “sixth Friend.”
Phoebe Buffay was a beloved member of the Friends ensemble, irreplaceable with her consistently off-beat humor. However, it seems that people in Hollywood didn’t value her as much as they did, say, Jennifer Aniston or Courteney Cox. Lisa Kudrow was asked about representatives referring to her internally as the “sixth Friend,” and she told THR:
