Friends hosted several big-name celebrities over the sitcoms decade-long run, and Brad Pitt served up one of the most noteworthy cameos. Pitt was already a huge movie star prior to his 2001 appearance on Friends, with dozens of titles under his belt, including titles such as Thelma & Louise, Interview with the Vampire, Legends of the Fall, and Fight Club. Here's how Friends managed to get a cameo from Pitt and how it ended up being quite controversial.
Pitt portrayed the role of Will Colbert on the Friends season 8 episode, "The One with the Rumor." The episode served as the annual Thanksgiving special and focused on the conflict between Will and Rachel. Will went to school with Monica, Ross, and Rachel, but still held onto some animosity since his teenage years. It was revealed that Rachel once bullied Will due to his weight, and he was actually a founding member of the "I Hate Rachel Green" Club alongside Ross. Rachel didn't recognize Will and was attracted to him until the truth about the club's past motivation was unearthed. More than anything, Rachel was upset about Ross' involvement since she felt betrayed by the man she was about to have a child with.
At the time of Pitt's cameo on Friends, the actor was in the midst of a happy marriage with one of the sitcom's stars, Jennifer Aniston. Pitt and Aniston married in 2000 and remained in a partnership until the duo decided to divorce in 2005. Since Aniston's character Rachel was such an integral part of the show, Pitt often visited his wife on the set of the series. He tried to keep out of sight from the audience to not cause a distraction, but then the team behind the series decided to have him star in a special episode. Pitt also stated that he was a fan of the series, and it was a perfect opportunity to promote his film Spy Game. His appearance was met with a lot of praise, but a segment of viewers criticized the writing of the character.
Pitt's portrayal of Will garnered the actor a nomination for an Emmy Award in the category for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. The actor's involvement surely stirred up interest to give viewers even more of a reason to tune in. Pitt and Aniston were one of the most beloved celebrity couples in the early '00s and it was amusing to viewers to see the couple play enemies. The context of their conflict, however, wasn't well-received by everyone.
When Will and Ross started the club in school, they spread a rumor that Rachel Green was a hermaphrodite. This rumor was meant to hurt Rachel's reputation, but she didn't even hear about it until the Thanksgiving dinner. Shen then tried to force Ross into calling their former classmates to recant the rumor as if it still held negative connotations. The intersex community was extremely insulted by the way the series used the topic of hermaphrodites as a hurtful rumor. Some of the community reached out to NBC to call out Friends' ignorance at that moment. Pitt's cameo may have been memorable but for some, but it wasn't for purely positive reasons.
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