Sorry, Friends Fans, but This Running Gag Went Sour Faster Than Spoiled Milk

Friends is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2024. The show has become an excellent guide for fans. For 10 seasons, the writers didn't just goof around – they taught viewers important messages about friendship and family relationships.

Along with the characters in Friends, we learned about the difficulties of career growth and raising children, and reflected on the importance of self-development and facing life's darker sides.

Friends turned out to be a universal show that is still relevant today. We see characters with different problems, and every viewer will find a reflection of their own experience in one or another episode.

But of course there are many complaints about the project. And one of the biggest is "Fat Monica."

The "Fat Monica" Jokes Are Definitely Not Healthy

From the very beginning, viewers are made to understand that the slender beauty Monica used to weigh much more. And the constant ridicule of others, including her parents and brother, became her motivation to lose weight. In flashbacks, the teenage Monica is shown as a lonely, chubby girl happily munching on donuts, all accompanied by off-screen laughter.

Many fans feel that the message of this story is very unhealthy. Monica's storyline distorts the image of the female body and seems to tell viewers that fat people are unworthy of love.

“I wish the show was more body positive. [...] Nothing on the show makes me cringe like those sad sad fat jokes,” Reddit user xeroxgirl wrote.

The "Fat Monica" Storyline Elicits Only Sympathy

For the rest of her life, the thinner Monica carries only self-doubt. As an adult, she believes that everything in her life should be perfect – from her appearance to the arrangement of the pillows on her sofa.

And she reacts sharply to any comments about herself. For example, when a drunk guest at Ross' wedding mistakes Monica for the groom's mother, she becomes terribly upset. And Monica's story evokes sympathy, not laughter.

Interestingly, "fat Monica" appeared to weigh only slightly more than a person of average clothing size. However, the standard of beauty in the 90s was almost extreme (and sometimes unhealthy) thinness, which the teenage Monica did not meet.