'Friends' creators apologize and donate $4 million for lack of black people in the show

Marta Kauffman, the creator of the classic American TV series "Friends," recently apologized for the lack of black actors in her sitcom and pledged to donate $4 million to her alma mater, Boston's Brandeis University, to support African and African American studies.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Marta Kaufman admitted that she had not done enough in terms of "racial diversity" and felt sorry for everyone. She said that it was difficult to understand people's "tricky and frustrating" criticism of "Friends" at first. But nearly 20 years after the show ended, she began to realize the mistakes of her way of doing things.

“I’ve learned a lot over the past 20 years, and it’s not easy to admit and accept that you’ve made mistakes,” Kaufman said. “It took me a long time to begin to understand how I internalized racism. I’ve been working on being an anti-racist ally, which is a way to engage in the conversation from the perspective of a white woman.”

Kaufman said her company has always encouraged the hiring of employees of different races, but it is far from enough. She said: "I am determined to hire people of color in every one of my works from now on, and actively seek out young writers of color. I will start taking action to make my anxiety disappear."