Brooke Shields Recalls Andre Agassi’s Explosive Reaction to Her ‘Friends’ Guest Spot
Brooke Shields has recalled an incident that infuriated her then-boyfriend Andre Agassi when she took on a guest-starring role on the hit TV show “Friends”. In a recent interview with the “New Yorker”, Shields shared that Agassi had an explosive reaction to her comedic portrayal of Erika, a stalker obsessed with Joey Tribbiani’s character on “Days of Our Lives”, Dr. Drake Ramoray.
The episode was part of the show’s star-studded “The One After the Superbowl” episode in 1996, and while the guest-starring role was meant to be fun, the tennis champ’s response was anything but. Shields explained that Agassi, who was in the studio watching her act opposite “Friends” star Matt LeBlanc, was so enraged by the slapstick nature of the role that he went home and “smashed all his trophies.”
Shields later learned that Agassi was using crystal meth around that time, something the athlete has spoken openly about. Looking back, the actress now sees Agassi’s reaction as “petulant behavior,” and it pulled the focus away from her acting and towards him.
In 2013, Shields addressed their split during an appearance on “Today”. She revealed that Agassi had told her, “Be happy that we don’t have children, or I would not have made this easy for you.” Agassi, now married to former tennis star Steffi Graf, has previously shared that he wasn’t capable of maintaining a solid relationship during that challenging period of his life.
Despite Agassi’s reaction to her “Friends” appearance, Shields has continued to have a successful acting career. She went on to star in NBC’s “Suddenly Susan” after her “Friends” gig and has since appeared in a variety of TV shows and movies.
In the interview, Shields also opened up about her life, including a traumatic sexual assault, in the new two-part documentary, “Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields.” The documentary is now available to stream on YouTube.
