Oh, Monica! Friends fans have watched Courteney Cox dance around with a turkey on her head more times than they can count, but it still never gets old — especially when the actress embraces the unforgettable moment by recreating it for Thanksgiving.
Cox, 56, did just that on Thursday, November 26. “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I hope you’re having a great day,” she began in an Instagram video before feigning anger. “I’m feeling so thankful, and also if I get one more goddamn GIF with a turkey on my head dancing like a f—king fool, I’m just gonna snap.”
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The Cougar Town alum then teased the glorious nostalgia yet to come. “So anyway, since I’m the symbol of Thanksgiving, here you go,” she said. “Hope it makes you happy.”
Cox proceeded to dance with a turkey — wearing sunglasses — on her head as the Friends theme song played in the background.
Lisa Kudrow cheered on her former costar in the comments section, writing, “You DID THAT!!”
Friends was known for its memorable Thanksgiving episodes during its 10-season run from 1994 to 2004. The sitcom starred Cox (Monica Geller), Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing) and David Schwimmer (Ross Geller).
The moment Cox recreated is from the season 5 episode “The One With All the Thanksgivings,” during which the friend group looks back on past Thanksgivings. Monica ultimately puts a turkey on her head — as Joey once did — and dances to make up with Chandler after a fight, leading Chandler to confess his love to her.
The iconic scene was the product of some TV magic. “That is absolutely not a real turkey,” cocreator David Crane told Entertainment Weekly in November 2016. “I think there are so many health issues about actually putting a turkey on someone’s head.”
Director Kevin S. Bright added: “It’s meat, it would need to be refrigerated between takes, and it’s going to be under hot lights — you’re going to put that on Courteney Cox’s head? I don’t really think so.”
Cox always seems up to the challenge of revisiting her career-making role. As such, she visited the Friends apartment building in March 2019. “The One Where My Rent Went Up $12,000,” she captioned a video of herself saying, “Goodnight, guys. I’m going home.” She later revealed that Aniston, 51, encouraged her to share the clip on Instagram.
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