Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer stood up for 'Friends' cast over unequal pay

All six stars of the timeless nineties sitcom Friends were adored by fans equally but the focus had always been on the characters of Ross and Rachel.

And for that reason, Jennifer Aniston and David Schwimmer who essayed those characters took a little extra home than the rest of their pals, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow and Matt LeBlanc.

As per reports, the entire cast was paid $22,500 per episode in the first season. However, after Ross and Rachel snagged the spotlight in the second season, Aniston and Schwimmer’s salaries increased with the highest being $40,000 and lowest remaining $22,500.

The second season was reportedly the only of the ten where the stars were paid different sums. This happened after Aniston and Schwimmer got their salaries slashed so everyone could be paid equally.

Schwimmer had been the one to negotiate the contracts of the stars as LeBlanc was the one taking home the least.

“He initiated the idea that if we stick together, nobody can rattle us. And it worked out, especially personally, for me. I was earning the least amount,” recalled LeBlanc who played Joey Tribianni on the show.

The following season, the salaries were raised to $75,000 per episode and $85,000 in the next. The cast took home $100,000 and $125,000 per episode in season five and six respectively.

Speaking about the pay negotiations, Marta Kauffman, co-creator of the show said during an interview: “A million dollars an episode is kinda ridiculous. Let’s be honest, that’s a lot of money… I think it’s inflated. And there’s something unrealistic about it. Not everybody is going to get a million dollars an episode.”