Kathleen Turner reflects on playing transgender woman on ‘Friends’: ‘It never crossed my mind’

Hindsight is 20/20, and for Kathleen Turner, she now sees her stint on an iconic television series a little differently.

In 2001, the Oscar-nominated actress landed a guest role on the sitcom “Friends,” playing the role of Chandler Bing’s father Charles Bing, who also had a drag queen persona named Helena. Despite being referred to as Chandler’s father throughout the series, Charles was always presented as a woman, which has drawn scrutiny over the years of the character’s transgender identity.

Turner, who previously told Gay Times the character was pitched to her as “the first woman playing a man playing a woman,” reflected on the appropriateness of her taking on the LGBTQ role in an interview with The Guardian published Monday.

“There was no question of casting a trans person or a drag queen — it was never considered,” Turner said. “It never crossed my mind that I was taking a role from someone.”

Turner added that while she probably would’ve passed on the role today, she wouldn’t change the past. “I certainly don’t regret having taken it. It was a challenge!” she said.

“Friends” co-creator Marta Kauffman also addressed the portrayal of Charles Bing during an appearance on the BBC World Service podcast The Conversation in July 2022.

“We kept referring to her as Chandler’s father, even though Chandler’s father was trans,” Kauffman said at the time. “Pronouns were not yet something that I understood. So, we didn’t refer to that character as ‘she.’ That was a mistake.”

Kauffman has recently reexamined other shortcomings on “Friends,” such as the lack of racial diversity in the show’s casting.

In a June 2022 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kauffman said while she initially rejected the criticism, her mindset shifted in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police.

“I began to wrestle with my having bought into systemic racism in ways I was never aware of,” Kauffman said. “That was really the moment that I began to examine the ways I had participated. I knew then I needed to course-correct.”

She added: “I want to make sure from now on in every production I do that I am conscious in hiring people of color and actively pursue young writers of color. I want to know I will act differently from now on. And then I will feel unburdened.”

Contributing: Elise Brisco, USA TODAY

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