ComScore

Why Ross Gellar Is Actually the Worst Character in ‘Friends’

It’s time to get yourself a piping hot cup of coffee—from Central Perk of course—because we’re talking about the worst friend in the beloved ‘90s sitcom, Friends (and no, it’s not Rachel).

In this week’s episode of The Worst, PureWow creator Matthew details all the reasons why Ross Gellar (played by David Schwimmer) is the worst friend out of the entire friend group. In case you didn’t know, this new PureWow Youtube series delves into the most problematic television characters of all time.

Watch the video below to see Matthew’s honest review and keep scrolling to learn why Ross Gellar deserves the “Worst Friend” award.

3 Ways Ross Gellar Is The Worst:

1. He makes everything about him

Matthew argues that Ross makes every situation about himself, even when it has nothing to do with him. For instance, he constantly blamed himself for his first wife, Carol, coming out as a lesbian. “He always makes himself out to be the victim, [like] he was brutally tricked by Carol. But, there’s no master plan here.” Smh.

2. He is *very* problematic

We all know Friends was filmed in the early 1990s. Keeping that in mind, there were a lot of societal norms that were acceptable then, but would quickly get called out in the year 2022. In Ross’s case, he has a very narrow view of masculinity. Matthew mentioned the time when Ross told everyone Chandler was gay on their college alumni website, just because he told everyone Ross likes to sleep with dinosaurs. “It’s very disrespectful, in my opinion,” he said. “His stereotypical view on masculinity is ingrained in his character and makes him problematic.”

3. He’s extremely toxic

We can all agree that Ross and Rachel weren’t on a break, right? Even though their relationship ended in complete turmoil, Ross (kinda sorta) made it happen. His weariness of Mark (you know, the one that got Rachel the job at Bloomingdale's) ultimately drove him to be a toxic boyfriend—which is not ok—according to Matthew. “He was 100% in the wrong,” he said.

Stay up-to-date on all things entertainment by subscribing here.

Check out our new weekly podcast, Stream On, featuring reviews and debates about the best shows, movies and more!



karelle mckay headshot e1678464959710

Assistant Editor, News And Entertainment

Karelle McKay is the Assistant Editor of News and Entertainment at PureWow. Before she started writing about all things pop culture, she was a literal couch potato who loved...