FAIR-WEATHER FRIEND

Rock Star Reveals Reason Why She Regrets ‘Friends’ Role

The Pretenders frontwoman said the small role changed her life in a big way, and not for the better.

Veteran rocker Chrissie Hynde said she “always regretted” making an appearance on the sitcom Friends. The leader of The Pretenders said her famous cameo destroyed her anonymity when taking her children to school. The ’80s star aired out her grievances during a Thursday Q&A with fans for The Guardian. Hynde appeared on Season 2 as a rival musician of Phoebe Buffay, played by Lisa Kudrow. In the 1995 episode, she performed two songs: “Angel of the Morning” by Chip Taylor and Phoebe’s “Smelly Cat,” which the Friends character taught her as the credits rolled. Behind the scenes, Hynde actually helped write the song. “I got to go to LA for a week and see my friend but I didn’t know they’d written a whole part for me,” Hynde said. Then, when the England resident realized the show was “on the cover of every American magazine,” she thought, “‘Oh f---, this is gonna be big.’” She stressed that the cast was “really nice” but ever since her Season 2 appearance, she became much more recognizable. “Until then I could take my kids to school and nobody knew who I was. Afterwards, all the kids were saying: ‘Your mom’s on Friends!’” she said.

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Ethan CotlerBreaking News Intern

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