"The One with the Rumor" is the ninth episode of the eighth season of the American television situation comedy Friends, which aired on NBC on November 22, 2001.
[1] It continues the series' annual Thanksgiving-themed episode tradition, and guest-stars cast member Jennifer Aniston's then-husband Brad Pitt in the uncredited role of Will Colbert, who reveals that, fueled solely by his hatred of Rachel Green (Aniston), he and Ross (David Schwimmer) were part of a club in high school that spread a rumour that Rachel was a hermaphrodite.
"[6] His work on set is admired by the main stars; Schwimmer recalls Pitt was "definitely ... going against type"[7] and Matt LeBlanc called him "really great on the show".
[8] The eponymous rumor drew criticism from the intersex community, a member of which wrote a strongly worded letter of complaint to NBC, calling the episode "ignorant, insulting, degrading, and absolutely unprofessional".
The member urged the network to learn about intersex individuals via the Society's website and read an on-air apology before future episodes.
"[10] Pitt was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance in the episode.