On Dec. 6, Cox shared a behind-the-scenes video of herself remaking the iconic Friends Thanksgiving scene for Instagram. It involved a huge turkey, a pair of sunglasses, towels, what appears to be plastic wrap or a shower cap, and a lot of swearing. After all, it’s just not natural for the cavity of a turkey to be stuck on top of a human head. TV magic made it look easy 22 years ago, but Cox admits, in the real world, not so much. Read on to find out the truth about the original scene and how the “don’t try this at home” moment came together. And for more on another Friends alum, check out This Is the Nickname Jennifer Aniston’s Closest Friends Call Her. The turkey head moment happened in Season 5, Episode 8, “The One with All the Thanksgivings.” Monica wanted Chandler to forgive her for being the reason he lost his toe on Thanksgiving when they were younger, so she tried to make him happy by dancing with a turkey on her head. While she still had the turkey on, he blurted out that he loved her for the first time. But the truth is, that turkey was not real. “We wanted—I especially wanted—a real turkey,” writer Greg Malins told Entertainment Weekly in 2016. “The prop department did their due diligence, but it didn’t exist. The biggest turkey ever for sale is not big enough to fit a human head. I remember them coming to us and saying, ‘We have to build it.’ So we made it out of foam.” Director Kevin S. Bright said the foam turkey was “very expensive” to create. “There were vents, and it had mesh so Courteney and Matt could see out of it,” he explained. For Thanksgiving 2020, Cox posted a video on Instagram that showed her new take on the Friends scene. She started her video by wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving, but soon zoomed in on her mouth and said in a frustrated voice, “If I get one more g****** gif with that turkey on my head dancing like f****** a fool, I’m just going to snap.“ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb Bright added that the meat “would need to be refrigerated between takes, and it’s going to be under hot lights—you’re going to put that on Courteney Cox’s head? I don’t really think so.” Oh, how wrong they were. She inserted the gif of her dancing, and continued, “So, anyway, since I’m the symbol of Thanksgiving, here you go. Hope it makes you happy.” Cue Cox with a turkey on her head shimming to the Friends theme song. For more celebrity news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. About a week and a half after Thanksgiving, Cox shared a behind-the-scenes video of how the turkey remake came to be. She captioned the post “The (gross) truth!” The video begins with the message “Vegan discretion advised” and then shows Cox with plastic over her face as someone helps her position the turkey just right on her head. (Seriously, don’t try this at home.) At different points, Cox says, “That bone hurts,” “It’s so disgusting,” and “Hold on, can’t breath” as a couple of people try to help her. Eventually, though, they were able to get the turkey on well enough that they could make the video. Just know, she went through a lot for this. Also, you should know, Cox did eat that turkey for dinner, as a final clip reveals her bird roasting in the oven. Judging by the comments on the video, Cox’s remake really did bring joy to a lot of people. But given how popular the original gif is, it’s no surprise that people loved it, including a lot of fellow celebrities. Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe on Friends, commented, “You DID THAT!!” Will & Grace star Sean Hayes wrote, “Haha! Love it. Love you.” Reese Witherspoon, who played Rachel’s little sister on the show, said, “Love you sister!” David Beckham, a huge Friends fan, added, “OMG this just made my day.” And Queer Eye star Tan France kept it simple with “Bahahahahaha” and a heart emoji. And for more on Friends, check out 30 Celebrities You Forgot Appeared on Friends.
