Ross Geller is a dingus, plain and simple. Out of all the friends, he is by far the least likeable and there are numerous points where he is straight up The Worst™. And since I’m salty, I thought I would share some of those times with all of you, so we can roll our eyes together. This is by no means a comprehensive list, Ross has been the worst way too many times for that. This is just the highlight reel.
Ben and his Barbie
When Susan and Carol drop Ben off one day to spend time with his dad, Ross freaks out to see his son playing with a Barbie and spends the entire episode trying to take the doll from Ben and replace it with something more manly. It’s such a stupid obsession that highlights Ross’ own insecurities about his masculinity, as well as his fears about what will happen to his son if he is raised by two women. Not a good look, Ross.
The male nanny
Talk about Ross being insecure about his masculinity: When Rachel hires a male nanny, who is absolutely perfect (and not just because he’s played by Freddie Prinze Jr.), Ross can’t get over the fact that he’s a guy. He eventually tells Rachel that he would never force her to hire someone she was “this uncomfortable with,” but that does little to downplay how ridiculous it is for Ross to fixate on Sandy being a man. Even more than that, Ross is incredibly rude, asking Sandy if he’s gay or “at least bi” as a way of justifying his more “feminine profession.”
We’re only two points in and I’m already sick of Dr. Ross Geller. But brace yourselves, there’s much more.
Mark + Rachel’s job
These could easily have been two separate points, but they make me mad and so I don’t want to talk about them for too long. Otherwise, I’ll chuck my laptop through the library window.
When Rachel starts a new job working closely with Mark, who she gets along really well with, Ross gets incredibly jealous. He is possessive of Rachel and refuses to believe her when she says there is nothing going on with her and Mark, and he resents the fact that she has a job that she loves and takes up a lot of her time. It is the first time in the show that we see Rachel with true purpose and passion, and for Ross to resent that just shows how immature and selfish he is.
Lying about the annulment
Does this one really need an explanation?
When Ross and Rachel get drunk in Vegas and end up married, Ross promises to take care of the annulment but ends up backing out, fearing how he will look as a person who has been divorced three times. He plans on never telling Rachel the truth, and while eventually Phoebe talks him into getting the divorce (something he only does because he is trying to prove to her that he isn’t in love with Rachel, not because IT’S THE RIGHT THING TO DO YOU PSYCHO), when he finds out he will have to own up to his lie in order to get the annulment finalized, he backs out. When Rachel does find out the truth, he even pleads with her to stay married to him, as “a favour for a friend.”
I can’t. I just can’t.
Mona
I think every point on this list until now has been talked about in other articles and YouTube videos talking about Ross sucking, but this one seems to get overlooked a lot. It’s so upsetting to me because I think Ross’ treatment of Mona is awful and is a clear indication of how much he absolutely sucks. I’m just gonna list some of the shit he does to her and you can make your own decisions:
He freaks out when she compliments Joey and argues that he is the nice one.
He doesn’t tell her Rachel is pregnant.
He changes the locks after giving her a key.
He abandons her at the movie theatre.
He doesn’t tell her Rachel has moved in.
He breaks into her house to steal back a shirt.
So, yeah. Ross sucks. Now that I’m on a roll, here are some other examples real quick:
- Saying the wrong name at the altar
- Refusing to respect Phoebe’s beliefs
- Dating a student
- Bullying Monica
And finally…