Fri Apr 21, 2006.SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Sexually explicit jokes and off-color language by writers of the hit TV comedy series "Friends" did not create a hostile work environment, the California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.The ruling by the state's high court upheld a lower court decision throwing out the sexual harassment claim brought by former writer's assistant Amaani Lyle against writers and producers of the NBC sitcom.
Because "Friends" was an "adult-oriented comedy show featuring sexual themes," Lyle should have expected coarse language from writers producing jokes and scripts for the show, the Supreme Court held in its ruling.
While the Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits conduct that creates a hostile or abusive workplace for women, it does not outlaw "sexually coarse and vulgar language that merely offends," the high court said.
The case raised questions of how far TV comedy writers can go in pushing the boundaries of taste in their private joke-writing sessions, with supporters of the writers and producers arguing that Lyle's suit infringed on their freedom of speech.
The high court declined to address the free-speech issues raised in the case.
"We have no occasion to determine whether liability for such language might infringe on free speech rights," the court held.
The show's writers claimed Lyle was fired because she was a slow typist who often missed the jokes she was supposed to transcribe.
"Friends," which was NBC's top-rated show for several years, ended its 10-season-run in May 2004.
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