'Who Is This?' Woman Tries Out the 'Friends' Filter With Horrifying Results

A woman tried out a Friends-themed filter with horrifying results, as numerous people claimed she looked like something out of a horror movie.

The sitcom, which spanned a decade from 1994, is still as popular as ever with a reunion of the six cast members airing in 2021, due to popular demand.

Ten seasons shared the ups and downs of Ross Geller, Chandler Bing, Joey Tribbiani, Phoebe Buffay, Monica Geller and Rachel Green, played by David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston.

With the TV show now on Netflix, even Gen Z has tuned in to follow the lives of the New Yorkers at the fictional Central Perk.

While the cast changed throughout their decade on our screens, and the nearly 20 years since the last episode aired, fans weren't prepared for a new TikTok filter that portrays the characters.

Danielle shared a clip to her account, @fabmomoftiktok, as she tried out the filter, named "Friends Characters," which was created by Florencia Raffa and has 5,700 posts so far on the app.

Overlaying the filter on her face, Danielle Downs, from Massachusetts, asks: "I'm sorry what the f*** is this filter? Who am I supposed to be? Is this Chandler?

"Is this Ross? I don't understand, who is this, with the stubble? Who is this? I'm at a loss. Who is this. Maybe, I have no idea, I have no words."

Her face changes six times, presumably going through each character, yet the resemblance is so poor both she and her fellow TikTokers were left scratching their heads as to who is who.

Downs told Newsweek: "The filter was something nightmares are made of. I am big fan of Friends, always have been, and when I saw the filter—I immediately had to try it. It was so bad yet so good."

Screengrabs from Downs' video.
Screengrabs from Downs' video. She tried out a "Friends" filter online, but the faces didn't turn out as expected. @fabmomoftiktok

"The men were a little easier to figure out than the women. Someone pointed out that they used their current faces, or faces from the reunion and once I read that, it made total sense. Ross was my favorite filter, but Chandler seemed like a human skin mask," she said.

The clip, posted on Friday has already amassed more than 500,000 views, and can be seen here, as Amel reckoned: "The end... nightmare fuel."

Anthony Gilét thought: "It goes Chandler, Ross, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel but yes I died. None of them are accurate."

Ellen_degenerate_69 joked: "It's giving Central Perk Chainsaw Massacre."

Sunny Rosenau wrote: "Face Off Friends Version."

Kat commented: "Ross is literal nightmare fuel. Like, a jump scare."

Beauautin reckoned: "GORL that's not Friends that's Acquaintances."

Raidencooke asked: "What in the silence of the lambs is happening."

Daisy thought: "The third one is Joey 100%."

Emily Bate said: "The way you turned into dial up internet at the end."

Marvel.comica commented: "The friend glitch."

While Samrena added: "Some Friday the 13th horror stuff here!"

Raffa, whose Instagram bio describes herself as an AR Filter Creator, shared a few videos of herself trying out the filter. In one clip, uploaded to the site last week, it seemingly confirmed the order of the Friends is indeed Chandler, Ross, Joey, Monica, Phoebe and Rachel.

"Jajaja be part of this group with my new filter 'Friends Character' be #chandler #ross #joey #monica #phoebe #rachel," she captioned the video, which can be seen here.

Raffa, based in Argentina, told Newsweek: "Haha I know it's not perfect, but I swear I wanted to do it right!! Women have cost me a lot to look alike, but the idea is to have fun, right? So I decided to put it online!

"I had started this filter in particular on Instagram, and then with the masks already made I have passed it to TikTok, and I think it took a week or two to do it (using my free time). In TikTok, I have done the beards and the deformations again since both programs are different in some aspects.

Downs' went through all six characters.
A woman tried out the new "Friends" filter on TikTok. @fabmomoftiktok

"My favorite is Chandler! I'm quite sarcastic and I love humor, so he is my favorite, and on the side of women Phoebe, because I have crazy things or crazy and funny thoughts!"

Addressing people's reactions, she said: "Here the people who hate the filter are using it! hahaha to say that it is horrendous, and that amuses me much more! I like criticism because I take hold of that to respond with sarcasm hahaha, it is one to transform the negative into something positive! And obviously, the positive comments do you good to continue creating!!!"

Friends was widely successful until in 2004, and it has permeated popular culture even after the show's end. Moving furniture is often accompanied by "pivot," made famous by Ross in season 5 episode 16 "The One with the Cop."

While there have been numerous debates over whether or not Ross and Rachel were in fact on a break, which first pops up in season 3 episode 15, the aptly titled "The One Where Ross And Rachel Take A Break."

One more episode was added to the original run of 236 when the cast reunited in 2021 for a one-off special, reminiscing about their time on the show.

The six actors revisited the iconic set and chatted to special guests, including Maggie Wheeler, who played Janice Litman-Goralnik, and Tom Selleck, who played Dr. Richard Burke.

File photo of "Friends" cast.
File photo of "Friends" cast. A woman tried out a new "Friends"-themed filter with horrifying results. Fotos International/Getty Images

Update 3/22/22, 11:08 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comments, photos and video from Downs and Raffa.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Rebecca Flood is Newsweek's Audience Editor (Trends) and joined in 2021 as a senior reporter.

Rebecca specializes in lifestyle and viral ... Read more

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