‘Living Single’ Fans Drag David Schwimmer for “All-Black ‘Friends’” Comment: ‘Friends’ Was the “All-White Version”

David Schwimmer is definitely on a break with Twitter users. This week, The Guardian published a new interview with the beloved star, who suggested that “there should be an all-black Friends or an all-Asian Friends” in the future. Schwimmer’s comment immediately ignited a Twitter firestorm, and many were quick to point out that Friends was actually “the all-white version of Living Single,” another successful 1990s sitcom. Even Living Single star Erika Alexander took a shot at Schwimmer, writing to her co-stars, “Help me school him.”

In his interview with The Guardian, Schwimmer defended Friends while also acknowledging some of its faults. “Maybe there should be an all-black Friends or an all-Asian Friends,” he said. “I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of colour. One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian American woman, and later I dated African American women. That was a very conscious push on my part.”

Schwimmer’s “all-black Friends” remark didn’t sit well with Living Single fans, who noted that the sitcom first aired on Fox in 1993 — one year before Friends debuted on NBC. The comedy, which ran for five seasons, followed six friends living in the same apartment building in Brooklyn as they battled the ups and downs of life in the mid-1990s. Sound familiar?

Living Single fans weren’t kind to Schwimmer as they reminded him which series takes the sitcom gold. “I guess homeboy forgot about Living Single,” wrote one Twitter user. “Colonizers… doing what they do best,” said another, adding that Friends was the “stolen concept” of the black sitcom.

It wasn’t long before the brouhaha made its way to Living Single star Erika Alexander, who played attorney Maxine (“Max”) Felice Shaw.  “Are you seriously telling me you’ve never heard of Living Single? We invested the template. You’re welcome bro,” she tweeted. In another tweet, Alexander tagged co-stars Queen Latifah, Kim Coles, and Kim Fields, writing, “4 year edutainment. Help me school him.”

David Schwimmer, your “4 year edutainment” starts now: Living Single is currently streaming on Hulu.

Where to stream Living Single