# The One with the Rumor
**"The One with the Rumor"** is the ninth episode of the eighth season of the American sitcom *Friends*, first aired on NBC on November 22, 2001. It is the series' [Thanksgiving](https://www.edgepedia.org/thanksgiving) episode for season 8, and its guest star is [Brad Pitt](https://www.edgepedia.org/brad-pitt), then married to cast member [Jennifer Aniston](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-aniston), playing Will Colbert, a high school classmate of Ross, Monica, and Rachel who co-founded an "I Hate Rachel Green" club with Ross and spread a rumor that Rachel was intersex.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-11-24/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked-worst-best)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Season / episode | Season 8, episode 9; 179th overall episode of *Friends*[3](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_With_The_Rumor) |
| Original air date | November 22, 2001, on NBC[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/) |
| Writer / director | Written by Shana Goldberg-Meehan; directed by Gary Halvorson[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/fullcredits/) |
| Guest star | Brad Pitt as Will Colbert, listed as uncredited in the cast order[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/fullcredits/) |
| Production code | 227410[3](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_With_The_Rumor) |
| Filming | November 2, 2001, at Stage 24, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios, Burbank, California[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/locations/) |
| Running time | 22 minutes as broadcast; the extended DVD version runs 22 minutes 18 seconds[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/friends/season-8/episode-9-the-one-with-the-rumor/) • [7](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/friends-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00njg1mzq) |
## Premise and plot
Monica invites Will Colbert, an old high school friend of hers and Ross's, to [Thanksgiving dinner](https://www.edgepedia.org/thanksgiving-dinner), unaware that he is not fond of Rachel.[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/) Will, who has lost a great deal of weight since high school, turns out to have harbored a long-standing hatred of Rachel, claiming she was cruel to him as a teenager; Rachel barely remembers him.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-11-24/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked-worst-best) • [8](https://www.tvline.com/2120216/friends-episodes-aged-poorly/)
**The rumor.** Will and Ross reveal that in high school they founded the "I Hate Rachel Green" club, which spread a rumor that Rachel was intersex, in retaliation for her treatment of them.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-11-24/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked-worst-best) • [9](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2558723/every-friends-thanksgiving-episode-ranked) The revelation is balanced when Monica and Rachel are reminded that Rachel started a rumor about Ross making out with Mrs. Altmann, their 50-year-old librarian, which was true.[10](https://www.slashfilm.com/2028973/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked/) • [15](https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?episode=s08e09&tv-show=friends)
**The turkey.** In the parallel storyline, Monica threatens not to make a turkey because only Joey wants one, and Joey vows to eat an entire 19-pound turkey himself, which he does, donning Phoebe's old maternity pants for the effort.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-11-24/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked-worst-best) • [11](https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked/) Chandler and Phoebe pretend to watch football to avoid helping with the meal.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-11-24/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked-worst-best)
## Casting and production
Brad Pitt's appearance was anticipated before broadcast: trade publications had reported during the season that he would appear, and most media outlets correctly predicted he was the episode's mystery guest star.[3](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_With_The_Rumor) Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were married when the episode was filmed and aired, which gave his character's hostility toward Rachel an added layer for audiences at the time.[12](https://time.com/3635722/friends-viewing-guide-for-newbies/) The episode was filmed on November 2, 2001, on Stage 24 at Warner Brothers Burbank Studios, the series' regular home stage.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/locations/)
The writing credits list Shana Goldberg-Meehan as writer, with David Crane and [Marta Kauffman](https://www.edgepedia.org/marta-kauffman) credited as creators, and Robert Carlock and R. Lee Fleming Jr. as executive story editors.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/fullcredits/) Metacritic's credit block for the episode lists Crane, Kauffman, Goldberg-Meehan, Carlock, and Fleming among its writers.[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/friends/season-8/episode-9-the-one-with-the-rumor/) A detail noted by fans of the show's props: the Magna Doodle in Joey and Rachel's apartment displays a globe reading "One New York," a tribute to the victims of the [September 11 attacks](https://www.edgepedia.org/september-11-attacks), which had occurred weeks before filming.[3](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_With_The_Rumor)
## Reception and retrospective assessment
At the time of broadcast, Pitt's guest spot drew attention as a major celebrity booking; one retrospective ranking calls him probably the biggest guest star in television at the time, playing against the type of his *Ocean's Eleven* persona.[13](https://readysteadycut.com/2019/09/17/friends-at-25-ranking-the-top-25-episodes-of-all-time/) Cinemablend's ranking of the Thanksgiving episodes describes the part as an "epic, Emmy-nominated guest spot."[9](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2558723/every-friends-thanksgiving-episode-ranked) The episode has placed highly in rankings of the series' Thanksgiving episodes: the *Los Angeles Times* ranked it second of the ten, behind only "The One Where Ross Got High," and TV Insider also ranked it second.[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-11-24/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked-worst-best) • [11](https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked/)
Retrospective views are divided along two lines. Critics of the episode's content single out the intersex rumor: *The Independent* ranked it 229 of the series' 236 episodes, arguing that the joke contributed to real stigma surrounding intersex people, and TVLine lists it among *Friends* episodes that have aged poorly for the same reason.[14](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/friends-episodes-ranked-best-worst-cast-b2656095.html) • [8](https://www.tvline.com/2120216/friends-episodes-aged-poorly/) Defenders point to the ensemble comedy, Pitt's performance, and Joey's turkey storyline; the *Los Angeles Times* writes that Pitt is "terrific" and that Joey "steals the show."[2](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-11-24/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked-worst-best)
The episode's afterlife includes a place in the [Nick at Nite](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-at-nite) "Friends A-Z Event" in January 2023, where it stood for "B is for Brad Pitt."[3](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_With_The_Rumor)
## Place in the series
"The One with the Rumor" is one of the annual *Friends* Thanksgiving episodes, one per season except season 2.[12](https://time.com/3635722/friends-viewing-guide-for-newbies/) Like several of them, it revisits the characters' high school years, when Monica was overweight and Rachel had not yet had her nose job, through dialogue rather than flashbacks.[12](https://time.com/3635722/friends-viewing-guide-for-newbies/) • [16](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/friends/episodes-season-8/1000293358/) In the season 8 episode sequence it follows "The One with the Stripper" and precedes "The One with Monica's Boots."[3](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_With_The_Rumor)
## References
1. ["Friends" The One with the Rumor (TV Episode 2001), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/)
2. ["Friends" Thanksgiving episodes ranked worst to best, Los Angeles Times (2025)](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2025-11-24/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked-worst-best)
3. [The One With The Rumor, Friends Central (Fandom)](https://friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_With_The_Rumor)
4. ["Friends" The One with the Rumor, Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/fullcredits/)
5. ["Friends" The One with the Rumor, Filming & production, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0583642/locations/)
6. [Friends season 8, episode 9 reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/friends/season-8/episode-9-the-one-with-the-rumor/)
7. [Friends Season 8 Episode 9 extended version, BBFC](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/friends-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc00njg1mzq)
8. [15 Friends Episodes That Have Aged Poorly, TVLine (2025)](https://www.tvline.com/2120216/friends-episodes-aged-poorly/)
9. [Every Friends Thanksgiving Episode, Ranked, Cinemablend](https://www.cinemablend.com/television/2558723/every-friends-thanksgiving-episode-ranked)
10. [Every Friends Thanksgiving Episode, Ranked By Rewatchability, SlashFilm](https://www.slashfilm.com/2028973/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked/)
11. [All 8 'Friends' Thanksgiving Episodes, Ranked, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/gallery/friends-thanksgiving-episodes-ranked/)
12. [A Viewing Guide for the Friends Newbie, TIME](https://time.com/3635722/friends-viewing-guide-for-newbies/)
13. [The 25 Greatest Friends Episodes of All Time, Ready Steady Cut](https://readysteadycut.com/2019/09/17/friends-at-25-ranking-the-top-25-episodes-of-all-time/)
14. [Every Friends episode ranked worst to best, The Independent (2024)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/friends-episodes-ranked-best-worst-cast-b2656095.html)
15. [Friends 227410 Episode Script, SS](https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?episode=s08e09&tv-show=friends)
16. [Watch Friends Online, Season 8 (2001), TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/friends/episodes-season-8/1000293358/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › Comedy-series episode lists and notable episodes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license