Brooke Shields: ‘Petulant’ Andre Agassi stormed out of a ‘Friends’ taping

Whenever I hear stories about Andre Agassi – even when those stories are coming from people who like him – I always think “wow, he sounds like such an a–hole.” While he was an all-time tennis great and he’s kept his nose clean for years in his marriage to Steffi Graff, you can’t escape the feeling that he was always a f–king douchebag and he treated most people poorly. Speaking of, Brooke Shields was Agassi’s first wife and she’s always got stories about how he was a giant suckbaby for the entire two years of their marriage. She was recently interviewed in the New Yorker, and People has those comments plus some background:

According to Brooke Shields, her guest appearance on a 1996 episode of Friends triggered a destructive moment by her then-husband Andre Agassi. Shields guest-starred as Erika, an off-kilter super fan of Joey (Matt LeBlanc) who believed Joey was actually Dr. Drake Ramoray, the fictional character he played in Days of Our Lives. The actress’s multi-episode arc included a scene where she licked Joey’s hand — a setup that apparently angered her tennis champ spouse.

“He said I made him look like a fool by licking Joey’s fingers and he got in his car and drove all the way to Vegas. Once there, he smashed all of his tennis trophies, destroying them in a rage,” Shields, now 57, first shared in her 2014 memoir There Was a Little Girl.

In a recent conversation with the New Yorker, Shields revisited the marital fallout she experience while filming her Friends role.

“Andre was in the audience supporting me,” she recalled, “and he stormed out. He said, ‘Everybody’s making fun of me. You made a fool of me by that behavior.’ I’m like, ‘It’s comedy! What is the matter with you?'”

Despite the scene’s negative impact on Shields’ and Agassi’s marriage, it ultimately helped Shields land her starring role in the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan, which aired from 1996 to 2000. Still, the joy was dampered by her ex-husband’s behavior.

“It was petulant behavior,” Shields told the New Yorker. “It co-opted it for me emotionally, because all of a sudden then my focus went to him.”

Shields delves into her tumultuous relationship with Agassi, now 52, in her two-part Hulu documentary Pretty Baby. While speaking about the project, Shields recently told PEOPLE she and Agassi have not been in touch in the 14 years since the release of Open — though she does give her ex credit for helping her separate from her mother and manager Teri Shields, who was also a lifelong alcoholic before she died in 2012. Shields says that, “to this day,” her therapist tells her, “I will always be thankful to Andre because he helped you separate from your mother lovingly.”

[From People]

Imagine being mad at Brooke Shields for licking Matt LeBlanc on a popular TV show. Imagine storming out of a FRIENDS TAPING and rage-driving all the way to Las Vegas. My God. Granted, Agassi was methed out of his mind during this era, but still. And Brooke is using the correct word here: petulant. Childish. Narcissistic, even. It makes me wonder what Graff has put up with in all of the years they’ve been married. Anyway, I would love to see this kind of randomness and fun, stupid gossip come back into style. I desperately need a famous actor to marry a tennis player and we could have tons of fun gossip about tennis and celebrity douchebags.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

BROOKE SHIELDS AND ANDRE AGASSI AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES. 1997. PICTURES /,Image: 547433702, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Ron Wolfson / Avalon

BROOKE SHIELDS AND ANDRE AGASSI AT THE 23RD ANNUAL PEOPLES CHOICE AWARDS. 1997. PICTURES /.,Image: 547442357, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Ron Wolfson / Avalon

BROOKE SHIELDS AND ANDRE AGASSI AT THE 23RD PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARDS. 1997. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. PICTURES /,Image: 547456532, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: WORLD RIGHTS – Fee Payable Upon Reproduction – For queries contact Photoshot – London: +44 (0) 20 7421 6000 Florida: +1 239 689 1883 Berlin: +49 (0) 30 76 212 251, Model Release: no, Credit line: Ron Wolfson / Avalon