Rashida Jones Reflects on The Office Exit: ‘People Did Not Like Me’

Forum 3 days ago

Rashida Jones Reflects on The Office Exit: ‘People Did Not Like Me’

Parks and Recreation star Rashida Jones is opening up about her brief stint in The Office and why she was removed after playing the character Karen Filippelli for only a year.

Jones joined the ensemble cast of The Office in 2006 during the third season and played Jim Halpert’s (played by John Krasinski) love interest Karen. However, the actress claims that people didn’t enjoy her time in the hit sitcom, especially with the audience heavily rooting for Jim and Pam Beesly’s (played by Jenna Fischer) pairing.

What did Rashida Jones say about being cut from The Office?

Jones revealed in the episode of Amy Poehler’s podcast Good Hang (via Deadline) that her removal from The Office made total sense.

“I had done a year on The Office and they let me go, which made sense. It made sense,” said Jones. Her Parks and Recreation co-star Poehler then chimed in, saying, “You had such a tough job there, because everybody wanted Jim and Pam, and then guess who shows up? A very likable, cool… and everyone was like, ‘Oh no, wait.”

Jones then cut in, saying, “It did not feel that way. People did not like me. Like, fans were not about it.” The actress stated that her character was introduced to “create tension” in Jim and Pam’s relationship.

“So I was the third point in the triangle. It’s fine. I accept it,” she added.

Jones returned in The Office as Karen for two episodes of Season 4 and one episode of Season 5. She last appeared in the series during a cameo in Season 7. The actress went on to star in other television shows after her brief time in The Office. This includes her starring roles in Unhitched, Sunny, and Silo.

On the movie side, Jones has starred in The Social Network, Cop Out, Celeste and Jesse Forever, On the Rocks, and more.