Jean-Claude Van Damme's appearance in the popular TV show Friends caused trouble for the crew and cast, especially for Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, as he tongue-kissed them during their scenes. He was also difficult to work with since he arrived late, behaved arrogantly, and made random demands. Warren Littlefield, the former president of NBC Entertainment, claimed that working with Ross' monkey was easier than working with Van Damme.

Despite being the most-watched episode of Friends, the story behind The One After the Superbowl was not great due to Van Damme's behavior. Van Damme refused to comment on the situation even years later.