David Schwimmer has defended his idea for an "all-black" reboot of Friends.
The actor, 53, found fame playing Ross Geller in the popular sitcom from 1994 until 2004.
In a recent interview with the Guardian, David criticised the show's lack of diversity and admitted he'd been keen for an "all-black" or "all-Asian" version.
But his comment has since sparked a sitcom race row after actress Erika Alexander pointed out that she starred in '90s sitcom Living Single, which had a very similar storyline - six friends who lived together in a house in Brooklyn, New York.
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She wrote: "[Are you] seriously telling me you've never heard of #LivingSingle?
"We invented the template! [You're] welcome bro."
David told Erika noted he knew about Living Single and "was not implying Friends was the first of its kind."
He penned: "Hi Erika. As you know, I was asked recently in an interview for The Guardian how I felt (for the thousandth time) about a reboot of Friends immediately following a conversation about diversity on the show, and so offered up other possibilities for a re-imagining of the show today.
"I didn't mean to imply Living Single hadn't existed or indeed hadn't come before Friends, which I knew it had.”
"Please remember in an interview quotes are often pieced together and taken out of context, and then these quotes are re-purposed in other articles by other people who are trying to be provocative.”
"I was a fan of Living Single, and was not implying Friends was the first of its kind."
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He continued: "To my knowledge, Friends (which came out a year later) was inspired by Marta [Kauffman] & David [Crane]'s own lives and circle of friends living in NY in their twenties.
"If it was based on Living Single you'd have to ask them.”
"It's entirely possible that Warner Brothers and NBC, encouraged by the success of Living Single, gave the Friends pilot a green light.”
"I honestly don't know, but seems likely! If that's the case, we are all indebted to Living Single for paving the way.”
"In any event, if my quote was taken out of context, it's hardly in my control. I assure you I meant no disrespect."
During the interview, David recalled certain aspects of the show which didn't seem diverse enough for him.
He even claimed he campaigned for the series to be more inclusive.
The actor said: “Maybe there should be an all-black Friends or an all-Asian Friends.
“But I was well aware of the lack of diversity and I campaigned for years to have Ross date women of colour."
He added: "One of the first girlfriends I had on the show was an Asian American woman, and later I dated African American women. That was a very conscious push on my part.
"I’m very aware of my own privilege as a heterosexual white male whose parents were able to pay for a private education for me," he said.
"I've always felt a sense of responsibility to give back and to call things out if I see an abuse of power.”
