Jennifer Aniston Took a Pay Cut for Equal Pay Among FRIENDS Cast.
During the second season of FRIENDS, cast members’ salaries were based on their popularity. Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer were offered more money than their co-stars. However, Aniston and Schwimmer stood up for their friends and opposed the unequal pay structure. In an interview, Jennifer Aniston revealed that the salary negotiations could have easily destroyed FRIENDS. Throughout the show’s 10-season run, the six cast members, including Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, and Lisa Kudrow, attended contract talks together. In Season 3, both Aniston and Schwimmer took pay cuts to ensure pay parity among the cast.
Jennifer Aniston’s Fight for Pay Parity in FRIENDS
When FRIENDS first aired, Aniston and her co-stars earned just $22,500 per episode (via Parade). The storyline of Aniston’s character Rachel and Schwimmer’s Ross took center stage in the initial seasons due to their romance, making them fan favorites. During contract negotiations for the second season, Aniston and Schwimmer were offered much higher salaries than the rest of the cast. They were reportedly paid $40,000 per episode, while the others were in the $20,000 range.
Aniston believes this decision could have ruined their relationship. In a 2023 interview with the Wall Street Journal, she recalled the salary negotiations. She felt that all cast members contributed equally to the show’s success and deserved equal pay. In another interview with Radio Times, she said she wouldn’t feel great about earning more than someone doing the same job (via Standard UK).
According to a 1996 article in The New York Times, the group threatened “not to show up for the taping of the new season’s shows” unless the issue was resolved. They decided to negotiate their contracts as a group rather than individually. By Season 3, they were all paid $75,000 per episode, but Schwimmer and Aniston had to take a pay cut to achieve this parity.
FRIENDS Cast Became The Highest-Paid Actors in Television
In Season 4, the cast’s salary rose to $85,000 per episode, then to $100,000 in Season 5, and $125,000 in Season 6 (via Parade). As the show’s ratings soared, it became one of the most popular sitcoms ever. The studio was pleased with the ratings, and by the seventh season, the cast received $750,000 per episode. In Seasons 9 and 10, Aniston, Cox, and Kudrow became the highest-paid actresses on television, with each cast member earning $1 million per episode.
Warner Bros. continues to earn nearly $1 billion each year from FRIENDS. The actors receive a two percent cut of this revenue. They were also reportedly paid $2.5 million each to appear in the special, FRIENDS: The Reunion.
FRIENDS is now available to stream on Max.
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