Friends: 10 Most Cringeworthy Moments

Friends was already an all-time classic sitcom by the time of its finale in 2004. The series' popularity and longevity owes much to careful character development, well thought out jokes, and relatable themes. However, as we are about to explore in this list, there were a notable number of occasions where all three were sadly lacking.

There are few different forms of Friends "cringe", and we are going to explore most of them, taking in good acting, bad writing, and some truly ugly plot points. These are all tied together by high levels of second-hand embarrassment for the characters, and indeed in a few examples we do actually feel rather sorry for the cast themselves.

For this list we are avoiding anything that has been identified as genuinely problematic for modern audiences, such as Rachel's questionable boss/girlfriend relationship with Tag, anything involving Chandler's father, or basically the entirety of Paulo's storyline.

Prepare to relive a few memories from the show you had repressed, some genius moments of deliberate cringe comedy, and get use to seeing a lot of Ross Geller. These are the Friends moments, that for better or worse, we are forced to watch through our fingers.

Despite forays into the music industry and allusions to a former life of crime, Phoebe's bread and butter throughout the show is her work as a masseuse. This rather physically intimate line of work was a consistent source of more contentious comedic writing, such as the aforementioned Paulo exposing himself, or the pretty creepy events that lead to Ross massaging a man with kitchen utensils in his apartment.

Less controversial is this plot from Season 8's The One with the Secret Closet, whereby an increasingly overworked Monica turns to her friend for relief in the form of massage. This largely acts as a plot device to get Monica out of the apartment whilst Chandler's obsession with finding out what exactly is behind the locked door therein is allowed to grow.

What makes this a particuarly cringeworthy moment is the overly sexual noises made by Monica whilst being massaged, making her friend at first uncomfortable, before going too far the other way and embracing it way too fully during the final credits scene. Eventually the pair agree to part ways and not speak for a while.