Lisa Kudrow Reveals Lady Gaga Almost Made Her Cry on 'Friends' Reunion
Lisa Kudrow was seen reviving an old Friends favorite last week, when she performed her character Phoebe Buffay's quirky song "Smelly Cat" during the beloved sitcom's reunion special.
And the actress admitted that teaming up with Lady Gaga for the moment proved to be quite the emotional experience, as the pop star shared a personal message.
During guest her appearance on HBO Max's Friends: The Reunion, Gaga thanked Kudrow for portraying a character who was "different" and "really herself."
Speaking on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, which is to air on Friday, about the moment, Kudrow said: "Yeah, that really almost made my cry. That blew me away and also coming from her... My son was in grade school and they were all listening to Lady Gaga, and their whole message was, everyone be yourself and just be you."
Kudrow also admitted that she was forced to look up the chords for whimsical ditty "Smelly Cat" on Google, as she'd forgotten them in the several years that had passed since the long-running NBC show came to an end.
Brandishing a guitar during the long-awaited special, Kudrow, 57, joined forces with Gaga to perform the song, which her character frequently belted out on the sitcom.
"That was great," she told DeGeneres of teaming up with singer and actress Gaga. "I was really nervous when I first heard that and then I prepared—I realized I had to learn 'Smelly Cat' again.
"But I Googled it. All the chords were there for 'Smelly Cat.' Thank you world for posting the chords."
Kudrow admitted she was so nervous about the prospect of performing with Gaga that her throat closed up.
"I was so panicked," she explained. "I couldn't get anything out. I didn't know what was going to happen. But it worked out."
Kudrow went on to reveal that she only ever played the guitar to perform as Phoebe on Friends, and was "done" with the instrument when her decade-long run on the show came to an end in 2004.
During the reunion, Gaga joined Kudrow on the couch to sing "Smelly Cat" as she played her guitar.
A group of gospel singers then joined them to add powerful backing vocals, bringing the performance to a rousing end.
Kudrow then drew laughs as she quipped in true Phoebe style: "That was so great... I still think it's better when it's just me."
Kudrow got together with her old co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry to shoot the special in April.
Hosted by James Corden, it marked the first time the stars were seen back together on the set since the show, which debuted in 1994, ended in 2004.
During a recent interview with E! News, Kudrow spoke of a tender blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment between Cox and LeBlanc when Cox arrived on the Warner Bros. lot—which had been intricately designed to resemble the original set.
"Well, Courteney comes in and burst into tears," Kudrow said, "and I grab a napkin or a tissue—LeBlanc takes it because he is telling us a story and doesn't want to skip a beat and starts dabbing her eyes, just on automatic... That's who we were!"
