4 Friends Cameos That Just Ruined the Show

There's no denying that Friends is one of the most influential sitcoms ever created. The show premiered in 1994 and had a long 10 season run, creating a huge following. The show is in a way a staple of the genre, and it also gave the world a lot to obsess over.

For example, the show’s one-liners are definitely iconic, and are used by people in every country on a daily basis. Try saying “We were on a break” in any group of people, and there’s a good chance you will hear them laughing at once.

Friends is also known for its iconic guest star episodes. For example, no one will ever forget the one where Brad Pitt plays an offended used-to-be-fat guy from Rachel’s school. Even though the episode was cringeworthy, we still love it.

But there are cameos on Friends that we would rather erase from our minds. Here are 4 characters that literally ruined the episodes they were in.

1. Jean-Claude Van Damme as himself

Season 2 episode 13 featured a big star, Jean-Claude Van Damme, but his character was so embarrassing that even the actor himself admitted he was ashamed of the role. Van Damme appeared in one episode as himself, he became the sort of love interest to Rachel and Monica.

Both of them developed a crush on the man, but Monica was too shy to approach him, so Rachel did it for her. However, the actor said he would rather go on a date with Rachel and that led to a long fight between the two girls. It’s funny that what Van Damme hated the most was his acting skills at the time.

2. Sean Penn as Eric

Many people were absolutely happy to see the actor appearing in the hottest series of the time, even though for a short time. His acting was also brilliant, but what made it cringeworthy was the character written for him and the storyline itself.

Penn played a guy named Eric. He was Ursula’s boyfriend, but when he realized she was lying to him about everything he developed a crush on Phoebe. And you know how any storyline gets cringeworthy when sexual embarrassment is mixed in. And that’s exactly why many fans decide to skip the episodes Eric is involved in.

3. Elle MacPherson as Janine

Another hated character was Janine. It seems like she just didn’t fit into the series (not only because she was the tallest out there) and there was no room for character’s development. Fans also thought that Elle MacPherson's delivery of the role was flat.

“A lot of factors piled together. She’s a terrible actress, the character was meant to be a bitch, and by the later seasons every character was a caricature of themselves and the storylines were trite. Having said that, Janine to me, was THE worst,” Redditor Think_Wish_187 said.

4. Ben Stiller as Tommy

Another character that was a total disaster for the show was Tommy, played by Ben Stiller. Although many fans of the show enjoy him as an actor, the character he played was rather… unpleasant to deal with. And it’s totally understandable, as he played this freakishly violent and totally rude guy.

Tommy was dating Rachel briefly, and when Ross discovered the guy was a wreck and told her, he didn’t believe him, saying that Ross was just jealous. We wish that were true…