The final punchline, however, belongs to Ross. After Will leaves, Rachel turns to Ross and realizes that Ross was the co-founder of the club. She asks if the hermaphrodite rumor is true. Ross, panicking, blurts out: “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this!” and kisses her passionately. It’s a classic Ross deflection, and it works—for a few seconds, at least. “The One with the Rumor” was a ratings juggernaut. It drew over 31.7 million viewers on its original broadcast, making it one of the most-watched episodes of Friends entire run. It was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (Pitt lost to Anthony LaPaglia on Frasier ).

Rachel, feeling a flicker of guilt, challenges Will to a dance-off to make amends. What follows is a cringe-comedy masterpiece: the athletic, cool Brad Pitt is nowhere to be seen. Instead, Will Colbert performs a series of uncoordinated, embarrassing dance moves (including “the sprinkler”) while Rachel effortlessly out-dances him.

Will, played by Pitt, enters as a heavyset, angry, and deeply bitter man—a stark contrast to the chiseled movie idol we know. He is now a successful businessman who has lost a significant amount of weight, but he has clearly not lost his high school grudges.