In an interview with Interview Magazine, Kudrow explained why she never agreed with that. She recalled that many people initially asked her why she always played "dumb" characters.
"At that time, they would say: 'She's really dumb. Why do you always play dumb characters?' And I wondered: Is she really dumb, because to me she wasn't," said Kudrow.
When asked who perceived Phoebe as dumb, she replied that everyone did.
"Everyone perceived her that way. In 1994, the comments were: 'I love her. She's a total airhead.' That was completely acceptable back then, and to them, she was dumb because she was someone who didn't play by the rules," she conveyed.
Kudrow admitted that it took her time to fully connect with the character, but it happened over the course of the show's ten-year run.
"At the beginning, Phoebe was very different from me. It took a lot of effort to understand why she says and does what she does. It wasn't difficult for me; it was fun. Over those 10 years, something from her rubbed off on me. I relaxed a bit more and read some books on spirituality and similar things just to try to understand her better," she said.
The series "Friends" aired from 1994 to 2004. Alongside Kudrow, it starred Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc, and Matthew Perry.
Kudrow played the role of Phoebe, who was a musician but worked various jobs throughout the series.