DOCUMENT: Crime

"Friends" Sex Harass Suit Gets Boot

Court: Bawdy talk about Aniston, Cox part of "creative workplace"

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"Friends" Sex Harass Suit Gets Boot

APRIL 20--California's highest court today threw out a sexual harassment case brought by a former "Friends" assistant who claimed that she was improperly subjected to vulgar and coarse language by the comedy show's writing staff.

In a 7-0 decision, the state's Supreme Court ruled that the bawdy talk was a necessary component of a "creative workplace" that churned out scripts for the "adult-oriented" NBC program. The court also stated that the raunchy comments were not specifically directed at Amaani Lyle, the ex-assistant, but were instead just part of the atmosphere of the show's writer's room.

As previously described in a Lyle declaration, an excerpt from which you'll find here, those crude comments were often directed at "Friends" stars like Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, and David Schwimmer and touched on topics like fertility and sexual liaisons and preferences. Not to mention the writing staff's secret desire to turn Matt LeBlanc's character "Joey" into a serial rapist. (8 pages)