Viewers are often reluctant to critique the fictional characters they have cherished for decades. But as norms change, and society develops, even the most-beloved characters become fallible to some degree. One such example is Joey Tribbinai from Friends.
Often described as the ladies’ man with a heart of gold, Joey is the Italian-American guy from Queens who grew up with seven sisters. Though he’s sensitive to his friends’ needs and generally a good listener, he repeatedly violates peoples’ boundaries. His vices outnumber his virtues and are often masked as jokes. Some of the things he said on Friends have aged badly into modern times and do not hold up under scrutiny.
When He Urged Ross To Prevent Rachel From Finding Out About Chloe
“You Always Have To Think About The Trail!”
When Joey learns Ross slept with Chloe in ”The One with the Morning After,” he puts a lot of thought into censoring the crucial piece of information from Rachel. Though he understandably means well, fans do not see eye to eye with him when he urges Ross to prevent Rachel from learning about Chloe.
It’s right before the whole we-were-on-a-break debate and Joey is already encouraging Ross to lie to the woman he’s just cheated on. Modern age fans choose to interpret this situation differently from before, and according to them, Joey is equally responsible for the fall of Roschel.
When He Hit On Rachel On Her Wedding Night
“And Hey, If You Need Anything, You Can Always Come To Joey.”
Not every fan is on board with the way Joey hits on Rachel on what could have been her wedding night. It’s only been a couple of hours since she ran out on her wedding. What she needs is for people around her to either comfort her or leave her alone.
There’s no denying Joey is trying to prey on Rachel’s vulnerability in the scene. Although he becomes a good friend to her later in the series, viewers find it extremely distasteful that he tries to take advantage of her vulnerability and asks her to come over whenever she pleases.
When He Used Ben To Pick Up Women
“Aim Him At That Pack Of Babes.”
When Ross entrusts Ben’s responsibility to Joey and Chandler, they end up losing him on the bus because they are too busy paying attention to women riding alongside them. In “The One With the Baby on the Bus,” Joey comes up with the single father ploy to pick up women. His plan rests on the false notion that women endlessly obsess about babies and about guys who love babies.
The sweeping generalization that women are supposed to love babies belongs in the past. Viewers are also miffed with Joey and Chandler for using their best friend’s child as a tool to pick up women and for endangering his safety like that.
When He Hit On Rachel’s Baby Sister
“‘How you doin’?”
In the episode ”The One With Rachel’s Sister,” Jill came looking for her older sister after their father threatened to cut her off from his finances. Naturally, the first thing Rachel did was introduce her to her group for friends.
Everybody politely said their hellos but when it came to Joey, Rachel stopped him midway the second she heard him use one of Joey’s inappropriate pickup lines on her baby sister. Joey’s behavior reads as callous to modern viewers because Jill wasn’t in a good place in her life and Joey was violating the rules of friendship, once again.
When He Lived Beyond His Means
“How Did I Spend So Much Money?”
Joey stands at the bottom when it comes to ranking the main Friends‘ characters by wealth. The beginnings of his financial irresponsibility are most notable in ”The One Where Eddie Won’t Go.” He’s got his big break and has begun to live on his own. As a newly independent adult, Joey’s first order of business is to stuff his apartment with expensive art installations and ceramic sculptures.
After Joey’s killed off from Days of Our Lives, he ends up owning hundreds of dollars to furniture and art stores in NYC. Most of his purchases are either impulse buys or a result of salespeoples’ persuasion. His wasteful spending is considered wrong by most viewers today.
When He Refused To Audition For A Small Role
“But This Is A Two-Line Part. I Am Not Gonna Do This.”
Fans also think Joey set a wrong example by refusing to do small acting roles after being fired from Days of Our Lives. Everybody including his agent, Estelle suggested he take any job he could but he refused, saying minor roles no longer fit with his persona.
It’s unsettling that a twenty-something man, who owed hundreds of dollars to art stores in NYC thought some jobs were beneath him. And although Joey auditioned for the cab driver role later, he lost the part because he was still hung up with being Dr. Drake Ramoray on Days of Our Lives.
When Joey Let Janine In Without A Roommate Interview
“When Can You Move In?”
In “The One Where Phoebe Runs,” Joey picked Janine as his roommate based entirely on her looks. He seemed interested in her right from the start and wanted more than just roommates. Though they started to date shortly after, the rushed relationship was one of the main reasons why Joey and Janine were doomed from the start.
And while there was nothing wrong with Joey liking Janine, viewers find it odd that he let a total stranger move in without knowing what she did or where she was from. It’s not safe to let someone into the house without conducting a roommate interview. Such risky behavior by Joey wouldn’t hold up in modern societies.
When He Spied On Women Using Ross’ Binoculars
“Check Out The R*ck On That Chick.”
In “The One Where They’re Up All Night,” Ross gathers his friends up on the roof to look at the Bapstein-King comet. He’s come adequately prepared with powerful astronomy binoculars which unfortunately for him, Joey uses as spy gear.
Joey turns the night into a peeping mission, using powerful binoculars and the dark of the night to spy on women in the neighborhood. His actions are made even more violative by the insertion of the untimely laugh track. Joey’s unpleasant behavior doesn’t sit well with viewers and they strongly feel he should have been held accountable for his invasive antics.
When He Was Wrapped Up In Entitlement
“…And Now You’re In The Friend Zone.”
Joey’s alpha-male characterization set toxic expectations for fans who watched his antics for ten straight years. As such, a problematic concept, which finds its roots in the alpha maledom was the word “friend zone” that Joey oh so casually rubbed in Ross’s face. In “The One with the Blackout,” he suggested Rachel and Ross were never going to happen because he had waited long enough to tell her how he felt.
The concept of the friend zone enforces the false notion that two people lack the ability to have a platonic relationship. The word itself is deeply rooted in sexual and romantic entitlement and its usage is misleading at best.
When He Refused To Give Monica And Chandler Privacy
“…Monica, Look, I Don’t Think You And I Have Secrets Anymore.”
Throughout the show, Joey had the tendency to impinge on people’s personal space, sometimes going as far as denying they had the right to it. The video-tape incident from “The One with Ross’s Inappropriate Song” is one such glaring example.
Joey actually thought Monica had foregone the right to privacy just because he happened to watch her and Richard’s sex tape. As Monica and Chandler started to argue about the tape fiasco, Joey chose to stay in the room to witness their fight. Fans think the incident is one of the main reasons why Monica and Joey aren’t real friends. Privacy is a fundamental right in today’s times, and once again, Joey’s intrusive behavior just wouldn’t fly today.
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