To viewers’ oblivion, Jennifer Aniston was replaced by a “mystery woman” in an episode of Friends; however, no one noticed for years. A superfan recently noticed that Rachel Green had been swapped in some season nine episodes and did not hesitate to share his discovery.
Someone named Jordan D’Amico pointed out that Rachel was no longer Jennifer mid-scene in The One With The Mugging at Monica’s apartment. “Rachel” was even wearing a different outfit and is considered Jennifer’s understudy at the time. Interestingly, it happened twice and went right over the audience’s head.
Jennifer Aniston’s replacement in ‘Friends’
You can’t fool a #Friends fanatic. Why is this not-Rachel standing in for Rachel in this ep? https://t.co/7U8K9VAhl4 pic.twitter.com/drO44q9qax
— Decider (@decider) November 12, 2015
Jordan discovered the oversight when he reran all 236 episodes of Friends. “Only a few minutes into the episode, an enthusiastic Rachel rushes into Monica’s apartment to tell Joey that he got an audition with the famous and fictional actor, Leonard Hayes, played by Jeff Goldblum,” he recalled on RecentlyHeard.
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He continued his narration leading up to the moment he spotted another Rachel. “The three friends admit to admiring the actor for his cell phone commercials in which he starred opposite a monkey. Monica zealously posits that perhaps the monkey will be at the audition. Joey reacts by saying, ‘Don’t make me more nervous than I already am!’ and goes to sit back down,” he added. “It’s at this point that… BAM!”
It happened again
In season nine’s The One With The Sharks, another person was put in place of Jennifer about 12 minutes into the episode. When Joey arrives, Rachel is sitting at the table with Monica in her apartment; the camera focuses on a different Rachel, who is wearing a dark blue top and has straight hair.
Found another one! pic.twitter.com/FOKVBLwHOc
— Breanna (@breanna_lindbo) December 2, 2019
Decider posted the news of this decade-long realization to X, formerly Twitter, and users were shocked by it. “Went back to look for it, and sure enough, it’s a non-Rachel. It’s like they didn’t even try,” someone wrote. “Holy smoke! The deception makes me want to rethink my life,” another astonished fan exclaimed.