Not everyone in Friends is as well-intentioned as they appear. Three-dimensional characters are a sign of good writing, but the problem comes in when a character such as Ross is portrayed as an incredible person. In reality, anyone who came across him in Central Perk today would likely agree that he's the perfect example of a man with "nice guy" syndrome.
Ross isn't the only culprit, and there are other characters in Friends who cause a lot of problems for the people around them. They're not necessarily painted in a bad light, but their actions contradict how they're portrayed. The number of fights and break-ups within the sitcom goes to show that even people who are good-hearted have the power to hurt the ones they love.
Charlie Wheeler
Charlie was painted to be an incredible woman whose only flaw was not dating Ross. Of course, that's not a flaw despite how the show portrays it, but she wasn't as perfect as Friends tried to make her seem.
The real problem was how she treated the men she was dating, with Ross and Joey being prime examples. Charlie had feelings for Ross the entire time she was dating Joey and even kissed him moments after she and Joey broke up. She tries to showcase that what she has with Ross is real, but she ditches him as soon as her ex-boyfriend confesses his feelings.
Mike Hannigan
Mike isn't a bad person, but he was the source of Phoebe's heartbreak in Friends Season 8. Because Mike didn't ever want to get married, he and Phoebe couldn't have a future together. Phoebe had never been as torn up over someone as she was with him, and it was hard to watch such a loving character be in so much pain.
Thankfully, Mike does realize that he wants to be with Phoebe and proposes to her. However, it would have saved everyone a lot of heartbreak if he had made the decision sooner. Instead, he asks Phoebe to marry him in front of her current boyfriend, who was about to propose himself.
Dr. Ledbetter
Ross's boss wasn't in the show much, but he still made quite an impression. Ross had been looking forward to eating a special sandwich that Monica made him, and was outraged when it wasn't in the fridge.
Dr. Ledbetter admits that he ate Ross's sandwich and ended up throwing most of it away. Ross's reaction was completely uncalled for, but it's never cool to eat someone else's food without asking permission. He ended up in anger management for the way he talked to his boss, but truth be told, that's probably where Ross should have been all along.
Julie
Julie is actually one of the sweetest characters in Friends. She's nice to everyone in the group and is even sweet to Rachel despite her feelings for Ross. Ross and Rachel were the will they/won't they couple of the show, which made her a villain in the eyes of viewers.
She was the one thing keeping the fan-favorite pairing apart, so there was a lot of hostility associated with her character. Julie deserved a lot better than what Ross did to her, but everyone was happy to see her go.
Kathy
Although she was Joey's girlfriend, it was obvious from the beginning that she had feelings for Chandler. Rather than breaking up with Joey, she led him on for the entirety of their relationship. She kisses Chandler while she's waiting for Joey to come home, and it drives a giant wedge between the roommates.
Kathy should have been honest, but she came between two best friends and strung them both along. She and Chandler don't even last, and her purpose on the show was just to cause drama.
Chandler Bing
Chandler is such a loveable character that he almost feels out of place on this list. But Chandler has done a lot of horrible things to Joey which aren't talked about often. He did apologize for kissing Joey's girlfriend and did everything he could to make it up to him.
However, there are plenty of other ways he's hurt his best friend. Chandler criticized the bracelet Joey bought him, fell asleep during his movie premiere, and made Joey feel bad about an exciting new role.
Estelle Leonard
Estelle wasn't as good as an agent as Joey thought she was. She always did what was best for her, rather than what was best for Joey's career. Estelle didn't care much about Joey's success as long as she got paid and walked all over him.
She sells the tickets to Joey's movie premiere, which forces him to bring only one friend to see his performance. Estelle's laziness also raises the question of whether or not she was holding him back from reaching his full potential. It's possible Joey could have gotten better roles if he had a different agent.
Ross Geller
It's no secret that Ross is a controversial character. Although he was meant to be the sweet and sensitive man Rachel was looking for, he was the complete opposite. He didn't take Rachel's career seriously, seemed to feel some type of ownership over her, and was just a genuinely unpleasant person to be around.
Ross is arguably the funniest of the group, but when it comes to how he treats his friends and family, he's the most unlikeable character. He even fires a nanny that Rachel loves because he's uncomfortable with a man being so nurturing.
Janice Litman-Goralnik
Janice was never treated well by Chandler, but she didn't treat him very well either. She was over the top to the point where the friend group couldn't stand her, and whenever she and Chandler fell back into a relationship, Chandler would let her control his life.
Even after Chandler married Monica, Janice continued to pop up during the worst possible moments. Rachel was forced to share a hospital room with her, and she dated Ross, Chandler's best friend, for a short period of time.
Gunther
Gunther was both a low-key hero and a low-key villain in Friends. He would do whatever it took to impress Rachel, whether that meant helping her friends or hurting them. Because Gunther only cared about one thing, he couldn't be trusted.
He tried to drive guys away from the coffee shop that were interested in Rachel and collected information on her. There were even a few moments that made viewers wonder how far his obsession went. It was hard to tell if he was just creepy, or if Rachel had an actual stalker.