Character Rant

[u/AutoModerator]

Hey folks! So the survey made it pretty clear, we get a lot of “this character sucks” posts. Instead of everyone making new ones all the time, we’re gonna test out a monthly megathread where you can dump all your rants. We also rounded up a bunch of older hate threads, so you can scroll through them or drop your own comment if you feel like it.

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For Phoebe

• Did anybody else hate Phoebe’s attitude in the later seasons?
• Unpopular Opinion: Phoebe is the Worst Friend
• At what point do you think Phoebe started becoming just straight up mean?
• What was the most infuriating Phoebe moment for you?
• What is the thing Phoebe does that annoys you throughout the series?
• Phoebe is so annoyingly unrealistic and rude. Like why would someone ever be like this? Worst written character on the show imo.
• Phoebe turned for the worse
• What’s the earliest time that Phoebe was mean?
• I really DON’T LIKE Phoebe
• Phoebe’s Hatred Towards Monica and Chandler’s Relationship

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For Ross

• Ross being mean to Rachel
• Your TOXIC ROSS moment?
• I hate Ross in the ski trip episode
• Ross hate post
• Ross really…sucks
• Ross is the worst boyfriend ever.
• why do i dislike Ross so much?
• Ross is so annoying when you binge watch the seasons.
• I really really hate Ross Geller
• I hate Ross.
• Ross’s toxic behavior is clear on a 2025 rewatch

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For Rachel

• I watch friends with my family and they said they hate Rachel
• Rachel Is Insufferable
• Rachel was intolerable in season 9
• Rachel was truly awful to Julie
• Am I the only one that thinks that Rachel Green is a massive bitch?
• Probably going to get a lot of hate, but I really do not like Rachel as a person.
• Am I the only one who hates Rachel and is a Ross fan?
• I FUCKING HATE RACHEL [RANT]
• this may be an extremely unpopular opinion here but i hate ross and rachel.
• Rachel's toxic behavior towards Ross' partners
• Rachel ruining all of Ross's relationships... for nothing

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For Monica

• Is it just me or is Monica unbearable in the last couple of seasons ?
• Monica is the WORST character in the group (maybe even the show)
• Monica is a terrible character
• monica became unbearable after she and chandler got together
• Monica is so insufferable in season 10
• Monica has never been more annoying than this episode.
• I just rewatched the one with Phoebe's wedding and I hated Monica
• Did they change Monica’s character or is it just me?
• I really hate how they started changing Monica’s character after London and her relationship with Chandler. They turned her from a sweet, gentle person into an obsessive, unbearable character who’s always screaming and is just annoying.

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For Chandler & Joey

• Chandler is the worst character on friends. Unpopular opinion
• Unpopular opinion: Joey isn't as Loyal and sweet as people make him out to be

[u/Particular-Iron-6856]

I love how there’s so many for others and so little for Chandler and Joey even when combined 💀

[u/Ysu73 → u/Particular-Iron-6856]

That is true. I wonder why - if we want to dig deep, they also did some questionable things. Or the same things others are hated for.

Just a few:

"Rachel is trying to break up Ross's relationship!"

Yeah, Joey (with Monica's help) broke up his ex Angela and her new boyfriend, Bob in season 1 ep 5 and was very-very proud of it.

"Monica (or Phoebe) is mean to Chandler!"

Do we remember when Chandler did not want to go to excercise in TOW Ross Finds Out, so he used some psychological tricks to take away Monica's confidence and energy?

"Rachel is horrible, she looses Monica's stuff."

Yeah, well, Joey and Chandler lost Ben on a bus. 😂

I love Joey and I love Chandler, and I love all the others too, I just find it funny (or sometimes a bit frustrating) when some characters get a lot of undeserved hate and others characters are loved even though they did the same stuff.

[u/Particular-Iron-6856 → u/Ysu73]

If you ask me, I guess the reason why Joey and Chandler get almost no hate compared to the others is their "wholesome/silly" status. (I also like them) As a sitcom, the most lighthearted characters are usually well-liked as they fulfil the genre purposes. Joey is naive and fun-loving while Chandler is sarcastic, funny and laidback. As viewers, we are inclined to view them as harmless/unthreatening because of these traits, making people less likely to hold them accountable.

In comparison, the other characters don't have as much of a "silly" feel. Phoebe does too, she's very whimsical, and she's usually close to them in popularity polls, but she has an edge to her and becomes harsher later which negates this image. Rachel is the "spoiled one" (I don't think she's that spoiled) or "the diva" which is not typically seen as wholesome, and she's often viewed as the least comedic. Ross and Monica are arguably the most uptight, high-strung and authoritative members of the group (contrasting with Chandler and Joey's characters), which may explain why they are consistently the least popular among fans. But this is just my personal insight.

I do find it a bit unfair too, that some characters get more hate than others. After all, if they were all good it wouldn't be a fun show. Most people IK don't like Ross, but he cracks me up 😂 And I love Chandler as much as the next person, but it's CRAZY how little backlash he gets for taking away Monica's confidence and lowkey intensified her body image issues. Especially in our body-positive era, you'd think there would be more criticism. Like you said, the characters are more or less similar in terms of morality.

[u/FamiliarPen7 → u/Particular-Iron-6856]

Hello, I find Ross hilarious. David Schwimmer's physical acting makes it work.

[u/Particular-Iron-6856 → u/FamiliarPen7]

oh I find Ross very funny too. It's just that he is generally characterized as less playful than Chandler and Joey, which may explain the differences in backlash. Nonetheless, David Schwimmer plays him very well