The co-creator of Friends has spoken out about a "running misogyny issue" in the early days of the show and how she dealt with it in the most 'Friends' way possible - through some fierce humour.

Speaking during a panel for her new Netflix show Grace and Frankie at the ATX Television Festival, Marta Kauffman said "There was a man who was the head of the network at the time, a bit of a misogynist."

While working on the pilot issue, she said "He was having trouble with Monica sleeping with a guy on the first date."

She recalled that after the dress rehearsal of the episode the unnamed misogynist said, "[Monica] deserved what she got" when her date broke up with her soon after. When Kauffman heard his remarks, "Fire came out of my nose," she said.

That was just one example of the "running misogyny issue" Kauffman recalled from an executive in the Friends office.

Doing her best to stay true to her and fellow co-creator David Crane's vision of the show, she decided to send the office misogynist a very special package.

"He was a little hurt by something I said once," she said. "So, I sent him a basket of pantyhose, tampons, lip stick and nail polish."

Crane also decided to confront the issue by conducting a survey on sexism at the next dress rehearsal. "He handed out a questionnaire and one of the questions was, 'For sleeping with a guy on a date, do you think Monica is A) A Slut, B) A Whore, C) Too Easy, D) None Of The Above. And it was all none of the above. Nobody cared except for this one guy."

Female 'Friends' creator reveals the brilliant response to 'running misogyny issue' on set and the shocking detail about plot