Actor Steve Park revealed in an episode of the podcast Pod Meets World that the behind-the-scenes environment of “Friends” was toxic and that he heard racist remarks from a crew member.
Steve Park, known for his roles in “Fargo” and “The French Dispatch,” said on the Pod Meets World podcast that he heard racist comments while filming an episode of the series “Friends.”
The actor appeared twice in the NBC series, once in 1996 in the episode “The One With The Chicken Pox” and again in 1997. He played a colleague of Matthew Perry’s character.
During his second appearance, Park said he heard a racist remark about his fellow actor James Hong, who appeared in the episode alongside Jon Favreau. He also noted that the backstage environment was “toxic.”
“At the time, I felt that it was kind of a toxic environment,” Steve Park said on the podcast hosted by Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Rider Strong.
“James Hong was the actor who was in the episode with me, and the assistant director was calling him to the set, essentially saying: ‘Where the hell is the Oriental? Get the Oriental over here,’” he recounted.
The actor reported the incident to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and was advised to write an article for the Los Angeles Times.
“This goes beyond this show. It’s not the first time something like this has happened. But this was the environment in Hollywood in 1997. And no one felt the need to correct it or comment on it. This was normal behavior,” he lamented.
Steve Park will star in the films “Mickey 17” and “Death of a Unicorn,” both set for release in 2025.
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