Brooke Shields' Friends Scene With Matt LeBlanc Led To A Blowout Fight With Andre Agassi
Note: This article includes a discussion of addiction issues.
"Friends" fans probably remember the episode that featured none other than model and actor Brooke Shields as a guest star. Shields played Erika, Joey Tribbiani's stalker. What you never knew about Shields' guest starring role, however, is the drama that went on behind the scenes.
The episode was filmed in 1996, and at the time, Shields was in a relationship with tennis star Andre Agassi. The power couple began dating in 1993, and they were married in 1997 before ultimately getting divorced in 1999. For two superstars at the top of their respective industries, cheering each other on and supporting each other's new ventures was certainly important. When it came to Shields' role on "Friends," however, Agassi wasn't exactly supportive — far from it, in fact.
Agassi was part of the live studio audience watching Shields act opposite Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey. "In the scene, I'm supposed to lick Joey's fingers, because they're the hands of a genius, and I want to devour them, and I'm a nut," Shields explained to the New Yorker. Her character, Erika, was stalking Joey, because of his role as Dr. Drake Ramoray in the soap opera, "Days of Our Lives." However, the rather over-the-top and silly nature of the scene caused a surprising blowup courtesy of Agassi.
Shields and Agassi viewed the scene very differently
As far as Brooke Shields was concerned, this hand-licking scene was fun and goofy. "He was cute," Shields said of Matt LeBlanc. "He was, like, 'I've washed my hands and they're all clean.' I was, like, 'I had a mint!'"
Andre Agassi, on the other hand, had a different opinion on the scene. "He stormed out," Shields told the New Yorker. "He said, 'Everybody's making fun of me. You made a fool of me by that behavior.'" Shields was shocked by the reaction, and said she told him, "It's comedy! What is the matter with you?" She called it "petulant behavior," adding that "It co-opted [the cameo] for me emotionally because all of a sudden then my focus went to him."
As if ruining her moment wasn't bad enough, according to Shields, things got even worse when he got home. She says he "smashed all his trophies. Who wins for that? That's just — don't!" Among the many impressive trophies Agassi had at this time were two semi-finalist awards, two finalist awards, and one winning award from the US Open, two semi-finalist and two finalist awards from the French Open, one semi-finalist and one winning award from Wimbledon, and one winning award from the Australian Open, just to name a few.
On SiriusXM's "The Jess Cagle Show," Shields explained that she tried her best to get the trophies replaced, saying that, at the time, she wanted their future children "to see their father's achievements." She added, "I immediately went into that fixer mode."
Agassi's drug problem fueled his surprising reaction
If you're wondering why a scene in a sitcom would cause Andre Agassi to destroy some of tennis' biggest awards, Brooke Shields was wondering the same thing. According to her, though, a key piece of information cleared things up. "I learned later that he was addicted to crystal meth at that point, so that irrational behavior I'm sure had something to do with that," she told the New Yorker.
In 2009, in Agassi's biography, "Open," he described his addiction to crystal meth, which began in the '90s, as well as how he had lied to the World Anti-Doping Agency about the drugs in his system. "During the year that I was involved with the horrifying drug, crystal meth, I didn't win anything, I didn't do anything, I pulled out of everything," Agassi wrote. "As far as I'm concerned you can take that entire year and take it away."
Still, he was happy that he finally shared his story and hoped that it helped people who read it. "No matter where you find yourself, millions of people wake up in a life they find themselves in and there's actually some hope there," Agassi wrote.
Shields wasn't aware of Agassi's drug problems until after their marriage. She did say, however, that his "extreme sort of behaviors were not dissimilar to what it was like living with an alcoholic and loving an alcoholic," an experience she'd had with her own mother.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).