Friends writers' 'lewd fantasies'By Nicholas Wapshott in New York(Filed: 19/02/2006)
The racy dialogue and sexual innuendo that made the television comedy Friends a worldwide hit is at the centre of a sexual harassment case.Amaani Lyle, who was hired by the programme maker Warner Bros as a writing assistant, complained about her fellow workers' sexually explicit language in the California Supreme Court in Los Angeles last week.
She claims that the writers openly spoke lewdly about their sex lives and their fantasies about the Friends actors, who include Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc and Courtney Cox.
Miss Lyle's job was to note dialogue improvised by the show's writers. Warner claims that she was fired for typing too slowly and points out that sexual banter was a centre of the Friends comedy dynamic.
The complaint has become a test case for the freedom of expression in the workplace. "Writers need to, as part of their jobs, take on taboo subject matters," Adam Levin, the lawyer for Warner, told the court. But Miss Lyle's lawyer, Scott Cummings, said much of the profanity and offensive talk took place away from the writing. "This was just guys liking to say shocking, offensive, vulgar, obscene things," he said. Exchanges have shown that the writers mimed masturbation and drew genitalia on a chart.
The judges are expected to come to a decision within three months. Miss Lyle is now serving with the United States Air Force.
A cég szerint a sorozatban a szex-szel kapcsolatos vicceknek nagy szerepük volt, és az íróknak szükségük volt erre a módszerre, hogy a legjobb mondásokat kigyűjthessék. Az asszisztens ügyvédje szerint viszont az ott elhangzottaknak nem volt köze a munkához, csak egy csapat férfi szórakozott. Kiváncsian várjuk, hogyan dönt a tisztelt bíróság...
