Top 10 Times Ross Was the Worst
Ross may be characterized as a funny nerdy man but if you've watched Friends enough, then you can probably tell that there are some terrible traits about him! For this countdown we take a look at the Top 10 times Ross was the worst!
#10: When He Let Chandler Take the Blame
“The One Where Ross Got High”
Ross pretty much single handedly ruined Chandler’s relationship with Monica’s parents before they were even married. In this Thanksgiving episode, Chandler is trying to impress Jack and Judy before he and Monica announce that they’re dating and living together. He can’t figure out why they don’t like him, but it finally comes out that when he and Ross were college roommates, Ross’ parents came for a visit and smelled something suspect in their dorm room. Rather than fessing up, Ross blamed it on Chandler. That is not what friends are for!
#9: When He Thew Himself a Funeral
“The One with the Memorial Service”
There are so many things wrong with Ross’ behavior in this episode. When he and Chandler become members of their college’s alumni site, they escalate playing pranks on one another until things get out of hand. The problems start when Ross posts on the forum that Chandler is “very gay” in response to Chandler’s post. Let’s leave aside how problematic this simple thing is and focus on the fact that Ross goes on to plan a memorial service for himself after becoming worried that his old classmates don’t care that he has allegedly died. We knew he had some self-esteem issues, but this is taking it way too far.
#8: When He Gave Phoebe a Hard Time for Being Spiritual
“The One with the Cat”
In Season 4, Phoebe finds a cat who she feels an instant connection with and announces to the group that she thinks it’s a reincarnation of her deceased mother. By this point in the series, fans had learned to just go along with Phoebe’s crazy antics, but clearly Ross had not. He cruelly denies the possibility that the cat could be her mom, not bothering to use any ounce of sensitivity when breaking it down to her. He does apologize for this one after realizing the error in his ways, but that doesn’t take away his earlier actions.
#7: When He Wrote THE LIST
“The One with the List”
After Ross starts dating Julie, he’s faced with a conundrum when he realizes that his longtime crush Rachel has feelings for him. Rather than dealing with this in any sort of adult way, he (spurred on by Chandler and Joey) makes a list of pros and cons about each woman. All of his criticisms of Rachel are pretty harsh considering he says he’s been in love with her since high school. He calls her ditzy and spoiled, not to mention looks down on her job. We can’t say we’re surprised that it took Rachel a while to forgive him for this one.
#6: When He Helped Found an "I Hate Rachel" Club
“The One with the Rumor”
Brad Pitt’s guest spot on “Friends” was one of the highlights of the series, as the character he plays is so hilarious opposite Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel. So by this point we know that Rachel was pretty oblivious to Ross’ existence in high school, but he took her lack of interest as something more insidious and helped form an “I Hate Rachel Green” club. Not only that, one of the actions of the club was starting a rumor about Rachel that was not only totally un-PC, but also tarnished her reputation.
#5: When He Fired His Nanny Because He Was a Dude
“The One with the Male Nanny”
Ross seems to have some insecurities about his masculinity and takes it out by enforcing gender stereotypes several times throughout the series. One of those times is when he refuses to let his son play with his favorite toy, which happens to be a Barbie. Later on, when Rachel hires an incredible and experienced nanny for Emma, Ross objects just because he happens to be male. Not only does he assume Sandy’s sexuality, he eventually fires him because of his feminine qualities. Looks like you’ve got a little self-reflection to do, Ross!
#4: When He Told Rachel Not to Hang Out with Mark
Various Episodes
Possibly the most cited example of Ross’ awfulness is the entire storyline where he’s jealous of Rachel’s relationship with her co-worker, Mark. From the beginning, Ross is distrustful of any man who would want to help his girlfriend out, assuming that he simply wants to sleep with her. He then goes on to act kind of like an unabashed psychopath, delivering over-the-top gifts to her office and calling frequently to remind Mark who Rachel is with - as if he could possibly forget. It’s this very issue that leads Ross and Rachel to go on a break, but we’ll get to that in a bit.
#3: When Ross Doesn't Divorce Rachel
Various Episodes
After getting drunkenly married in Vegas, both Ross and Rachel agree that they have to have the marriage annulled despite the fact that Ross isn’t eager to have three failed marriages. He tells her he’ll deal with it, but then later reveals to Phoebe that he never actually did. He essentially thinks he can trick her into staying married to him, all the while slowly realizing that he’s in love with her. He then preys on her vulnerability when she’s upset about having to leave her apartment and asks her to live with him instead - while they’re still legally married. Get it together, buddy!
#2: When He Said The Wrong Name at the Altar
“The One with Ross's Wedding”
Sorry, there is NO excuse for this one. Ross’ whole relationship with Emily is littered with mistakes, from their quick engagement to him threatening to leave her if she doesn’t marry him on the agreed upon day after her dream venue is literally demolished. Then of course there’s the teeny tiny issue of him saying, “I take thee Rachel,” instead of “Emily” when it comes time to actually tie the knot. No matter what was going through his head, it takes some serious issues to not have it together to say your fiancée’s name at the altar. Are you surprised this marriage didn’t work out? Yeah, us either.
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable, or in this case dishonorable, mentions.
When They Play Poker
“The One with All the Poker”
When He Did His "Quiet Down" Thing
“The One Where Ross Moves In”
When He Hits on His Own Cousin
“The One with Ross and Monica's Cousin”
#1: WE WERE ON A BREAK
Various Episodes
We know this issue is a controversial one among “Friends” fans, but we can all agree that no matter where you stand on the “we were on a break” issue, Ross acted immaturely throughout the entire saga. Whether or not you think that it was okay for Ross to sleep with the copy girl that night, it’s totally unacceptable that he refuses to take any responsibility for his actions and own up to the fact that what he did would inevitably be hurtful. Not to mention the fact that the “break” happened in the first place because of the totally jealous and possessive way he was acting towards Rachel.
