Kathleen Turner is recounting her time on _Friends_. Starting in 2001, Turner played Helena Handbasket — Chandler Bing's parent — on the beloved series. Though it's now understood

that the character was a trans woman, throughout the show, Chandler (Matthew Perry) and other characters referred to Helena as Chandler's "father." In re-examining the role,

Turner, now 68, said there wasn't ever a plan to cast a transgender actor as Helena. "There was no question of casting a trans person or a drag queen – it was never

considered," Turner told _The Guardian_. "It never crossed my mind that I was taking a role from someone." When asked if she'd ever reprise the role, Turner responded,

was never formally referred to as transgender. The character has been highly scrutinized as the years have passed, with even the show's co-creator, Marta Kauffman, expressing regret for

how the character was portrayed. In 2022, Kauffman confirmed Helena was intended to be a transgender woman. "We kept referring to her as Chandler's father, even though

Chandler's father was trans," Kauffman said in a conversation on BBC World Service's _The Conversation_. "Pronouns were not yet something that I understood. So we

didn't refer to that character as 'she.' That was a mistake." _NEVER MISS A STORY — SIGN UP FOR __PEOPLE'S FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER__ TO STAY UP-TO-DATE ON THE BEST OF

WHAT PEOPLE HAS TO OFFER, FROM JUICY CELEBRITY NEWS TO COMPELLING HUMAN INTEREST STORIES._ Kauffman also pledged $4 million to the African and African American Studies department of Brandeis

University last year, acknowledging a lack of diversity in the _Friends_ cast. "I've learned a lot in the last 20 years," she told the _Los Angeles Times_. "Admitting

and accepting guilt is not easy. It's painful looking at yourself in the mirror. I'm embarrassed that I didn't know better 25 years ago."