Lisa Kudrow is playing coy when it comes to rumors that Ellen DeGeneres will be hosting the upcoming Friends reunion special on HBO Max. The actress, who played Phoebe on the iconic sitcom, opened up about what the special will entail during a discussion with Andy Cohen on the Sept. 14 episode of SiriusXM’s Radio Andy. She even addressed speculation on DeGeneres’ potential role amid the investigation into allegations of a “toxic” environment on the set of her daytime talk show.
Asked by the Bravo host if the reunion would be more “weave-pulling” or a “more collegial,” Kudrow laughed while talking more about the first time she will be reunited publicly with co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer since 2016. “Oh my god that’s so funny,” the actress responded. “Well, I think we’re going to sit around like a really nice restaurant and have you host and start screaming at each other … No, that’s not, I don’t know. I can’t say.” Kudrow also played her cards close to the vest when asked if DeGeneres was asked to host the reunion, which initially was planned for March before the coronavirus pandemic delayed filming. “I don’t know,” she responded. “I don’t know that that’s been decided. Yeah.”
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The Comeback actress also dished on what goes on in the Friends group chat, which includes all her former co-stars. “I mean, it’s, you know, checking in and how are you and stuff like that,” she said. “And then, it’s more about, you know, around the reunion and let’s talk about this and can we jump on a call and, and stuff like that.”
DeGeneres has come under scrutiny in recent months after a BuzzFeed News expose in July featured accusations of harassment, sexual misconduct and racism behind the scenes of the popular show. Warner Media immediately conducted an investigation, and in August fired executive producers Ed Glavin and Kevin Leman along with co-executive producer Jonathan Norman.
“As we’ve grown exponentially, I’ve not been able to stay on top of everything and relied on others to do their jobs as they knew I’d want them done. Clearly some didn’t,” DeGeneres wrote in a memo to her staff after the investigation was ordered. “That will now change and I’m committed to ensuring this does not happen again.” As the show prepares for a Sept. 21 return, the comedian promised in a press release last week, “And yes, we’re gonna talk about it.”
