Rachel might have been the nation's sweetheart when Friends first aired, but that doesn't mean that the character is perfect. In fact, she's far from it, often making major mistakes, just like anyone else. But the way that the character was written also wasn't perfect. There are many elements about the hit sitcom that simply wouldn't happen today as the world has moved on.
That includes many characteristics and moments involving Rachel. This is mainly just because times have changed and society has evolved. Whether it is things she says or the way she acts, there are just moments that simply wouldn't be done if the show was made today. Within this list, we will be focusing on those faults, picking out 10 things about Rachel that wouldn't fly today.
Belittling Ross' Work
Rachel isn't the only character that does this, but because she is Ross' girlfriend for many moments in the show it makes her a worse culprit. The show really doesn't celebrate intelligence well, and in fact, often makes light of the fact Ross is smart.
His 'nerdy' passions are something of a laughing stock to most people on the show and that includes Rachel. She never pays any interest to his work and often mocks him for it, which is something that nowadays wouldn't fly, as people are more about embracing each other.
Her Original Attitude
One big thing that likely wouldn't fly today is how Rachel is right at the start. It would be very hard to make Rachel a loveable character with the idea that she is better than everyone and just floats through life spending her father's money without a care in the world.
Rachel is totally oblivious to the world for some reason, despite the fact she grew up on the same education as Ross and Monica. It doesn't really make sense and likely wouldn't work today.
Rachel's Work Lie
Rachel hiring Tag purely because of his looks is certainly not a good thing, and it's debatable whether that would even fit into the show nowadays, purely because of how unfair it is. However, one thing that would certainly not be included today is the way she tells everyone in the office he is gay.
Rachel wants Tag all for herself and hopes to date him, so in order to stop everyone else flirting, she tells them he isn't interested in women. It's a ridiculous lie and something that just wouldn't be allowed to fly today thankfully.
Convincing Bonnie To Shave Her Head
Another time that Rachel made some bad judgment calls was when she convinced Bonnie to shave her head completely bald. Her plan with this is to get herself into a relationship with Ross, convincing Bonnie to shave in the hopes that he would dump her.
Firstly, getting involved that much and impacting someone's physical appearance is bullying, but the fact she thinks that Ross will automatically dump her because of her hair is very shallow. It's certainly something that wouldn't happen today as it could easily offend people.
Mocking Phoebe's Running
While Phoebe was always quite an eccentric character, that was part of her charm and was something that the group was well aware of. However, when she started going jogging with Rachel and displayed her crazy running style, Rachel became embarrassed and stopped going with her.
Rachel mocking Phoebe's running style wasn't a nice thing to see and considering she had been a bit of a bully in her youth it was almost like a throwback. Nowadays, people being unique is something that is celebrated, so it's unlikely this would fly.
Trying To Ruin A Wedding
Even though she does it all out of love, and ends up not telling Ross about her feelings for him, Rachel's decision to fly to England to sabotage his wedding is an odd one. Nowadays, it is unlikely that people would be as okay with it as they originally were.
People's original thoughts about true love have changed, and seeing someone deliberately try to ruin another person's wedding day might not go over as well as it once did on the show.
Driving Without A License
This was another situation that likely wouldn't go down well nowadays for several reasons. Firstly, Rachel driving a car without a license would just never happen. It's illegal and sends a bad message to people viewing the show, especially since she was a popular role model.
However, when she is caught and attempts to just flirt herself out of the problem the scene gets even worse. This wouldn't fly today as it just doesn't set a good tone for women, and that isn't something that would be met well.
Teaching Joey To Sail
The episode where Joey ends up buying a boat is a wild one, with Rachel agreeing to teach him to sail the two of them spend time out on the water. However, Rachel then spends all of the time yelling and screaming at him because he doesn't understand what to do.
He's literally on a boat, sailing for the first time, even people more intelligent than Joey would struggle. But Rachel constantly picks on him and loses her cool in a scene that people nowadays might consider to be bullying.
Treatment Of Gunther
While Rachel is never cruel to Gunther and doesn't try to hurt him, the fact is that she certainly strings him along and uses him when needed. Rachel is acutely aware of the fact he has a major crush on her, and throughout the show, she plays that to her advantage.
She uses him to get a job, and then keep it despite the fact she's terrible. She even gets him to pay for her cat that spends all its time clawing people, and while he doesn't seem to mind any of it, nowadays that is something that audiences would judge her for.
Not Letting Paul Cry
There is absolutely nothing wrong with men showing their feelings and being emotional, but Friends gives its audience a very different thought process. When Rachel ends up in a relationship with Paul, who is played by Bruce Willis, she struggles with how emotional he is.
Paul cries an awful lot during their time together, and really is an emotional character. But instead of Rachel trying to help him work through things, she ends up just calling quits on the relationship due to it.