Friends actor Stephen Park recalls incident of racism on the sitcom's set: 'I had become so race-conscious and so angry that...'

Hollywood actor Stephen Park, known for his appearances in popular show Friends, recently shared a racist incident that he went through during the filming of the sitcom, in a recent podcast.

During a recent episode of the Pod Meets World podcast, the actor reflected on his experience working on Friends' set, where he appeared in two episodes—“The One With the Chicken Pox” (Season 2) and “The One With the Ultimate Fighting Champion” (Season 3). He opened up about the set environment, calling it toxic, and recalled a deeply unsettling moment when a crew member used racist language while referring to fellow actor James Hong.

“It was at the time; I felt it was kind of a toxic environment,” Park said. He shared how an assistant director called Hong to set and said, “Where the f--- is the Oriental guy? Get the Oriental guy.” The remark left him stunned, but what troubled him even more was the silence that followed as no one spoke up or called it out.

He shared that after writing his mission statement, he sent it to the L.A. Times, which responded by sending reporters to interview him. However, despite the interview, his statement was never published. “When I called the Screen Actors Guild after that happened, the person I spoke with recommended I write an article to the L.A. Times," he remarked.