In which ‘Friends’ episode did Julia Roberts make her guest appearance?

The cultural significance of NBC’s Friends still reverberates through current pop culture. From its supremacy on Netflix to now streaming on Max, the New York sitcom is a comforting hug to cure whatever ails you.

For a decade, the six friends living across the hall from each other defined a generation, making Matthew Perry’s unexpected passing even more heartbreaking. Each season is filled with iconic moments and can’t-miss special guest stars. It was common practice for many of the actors to invite their significant others to appear in short stints on the series.

While Jennifer Aniston was still married to movie star Brad Pitt, Friends featured a hilarious dynamic where Ross (David Schwimmer) and his high school friend Will (Pitt) reveal they formed the I Hate Rachel Green Club. Similarly, Courteney Cox invited her then-husband David Arquette on the show where he plays a stalker obsessed with Phoebe’s (Lisa Kudrow) twin, Ursula. Another iconic star to make a guest appearance on Friends was Julia Roberts, who appeared in season 2.

Who does Julia Roberts play?

In the early days of Friends, long before Chandler (Matthew Perry) finds a soulmate in Monica (Cox), most of his humor centers around his inability to be in a functioning relationship. Scarred at an early age by his parents’ brutal divorce, Chandler becomes an unrepentant commitment phobe who uses humor as a defense mechanism. Unfortunately for him, this is where Roberts comes in.

In season 2, episode 13, Chandler runs into an old acquaintance from grade school. Susie Moss (Roberts) is a makeup artist on a film set the group visits and she recognizes him from a significant encounter in fourth grade. Susie pursues Chandler, which immediately should have been a red flag. After being convinced to undress in a public bathroom wearing only her underwear, Chandler quickly learns what Susie’s true motivations are.

Still humiliated after the incident where Chandler lifted her skirt in fourth grade in front of the entire school, Susie was always determined to do the same to him and that was all that motivated her fake interest in him. She steals his clothes and leaves him stranded dressed only in her undies, unable to leave.

Chandler may be the protagonist, but this is one of those instances in which you can’t criticize the villain’s motives. He humiliated her and though only a child at the time, Chandler still had the same immaturity at the time he did in the past. Some aspects of Friends may not have aged well, but holding someone responsible for their misdeeds even when they’re committed by the protagonist is not one of them.

Why did Julia Roberts agree to star in Friends?

Perry and the Pretty Woman star had been in a short-lived romance for a few months during the heyday of Friends. The Chandler Bing actor wrote about the experience in his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing (via The Sunday Times).

“Julia had been offered the post-Super Bowl episode in season 2, and she would only do the show if she could be in my story line.”

Perry was blown away by that realization because she had already become a monumental movie star and couldn’t believe she would want to insist on working with him. He later broke up with Roberts because her celebrity status was so intense, but by all accounts, the two enjoyed and fondly remembered the time they spent together.