This New 'Friends' Theory About Joey Will Make You Question The Entire Show

Look, I'm not saying everything you know and love about Joey Tribbiani from 10 years of "Friends" is a lie.

I'm just saying everything you know and love about Joey Tribbiani from 10 years of "Friends" COULD be a lie.

I know, I know. Has the world gotten so bad we can't even trust "Friends" anymore? I thought they said they'll be there for us! Is nothing sacred?

Don't blame me, blame this new fan theory Digital Spy cooked up.

The basic idea here is that Joey Tribbiani from "Friends" isn't a real person in the universe, but rather a character played by the "real" Joey Tribbiani from "Joey."

I know, I'm confused, too. Let's go through this thing step by step.

It's important to know actor Brent Spiner, aka Data from "Star Trek," was a character on "Friends."

He appears in the 10th and final season of the show, as the man who interviews Rachel for a new job at Gucci.

Then Spiner shows up again a year later in the spinoff, "Joey," but this time he's playing himself.

Very few people know this because very few people watched "Joey." (The spinoff was canceled in 2006 after two seasons, but followed Joey pursuing a career as an actor in Los Angeles.)

So, in this scene, Joey the actor runs into the actor Brent Spiner (played by Brent Spiner).

You guys following so far?

So...if Brent Spiner is really Brent Spiner in the "Friends" universe, does that mean he was only playing a character when he was interviewing Rachel?

And does THAT mean Joey was also playing a character on "Friends," and the real Joey is the actor from "Joey"?

And that's the theory! Hope you guys didn't get confused!

As a longtime fan of "Friends" and also logic, I feel pretty confident the answer to that question is "nah."

It's more likely the creators of "Joey" were friends with Brent Spiner already, needed some cameos for their failing show and didn't really give a damn about continuity.

But, still. It's fun to imagine.

Citations: Does this Friends twist actually mean Joey is a real person? (Digital Spy)