Penny Proud Has The WORST Friends 😬😬😬

My reaction to Penny Proud from The Proud Family having some of the worst friends in animation. Dijonay, LaCienega, Zoey, Sticky, Maya...they all do Penny terrible at times. How does this relate to real friendships? Let's discuss!!!
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#proudfamily #penny

[@starshipjive411]

Honestly...a part of why I could never get into The Proud Family as a kid was that a big chunk of the cast was just so unlikeable. Also "Those friends who hang out with you but secretly pray for your downfall" Yeah there's a name for those. It's called "enemy"

[@honeybunches4371]

Exactly and the way the show would address it yet nothing happened

[@ultimatebishoujo29]

@@honeybunches4371I know right?

[@xanderg.1070]

Honestly when I was younger, I liked when the show focused more on the adults or just the family itself rather than just Penny and her friends for those reasons.

[@alexcovarrubias1430]

In women friend group, you have frenemies. Maybe Penny likes the drama and does nothing to check her friends

[@nani-by1hv]

so true, i would've loved to watch the reboot but i dropped it cuz everybody's toxic af. it goes beyond teasing and into bully territory. i never had to deal with friends like this so i rly couldn't get behind Penny staying in that circle (except out of necessity)

[@foxbuns]

"As soon as she met Penny, Maya had an attitude." Maya has an attitude in every episode no matter what is going on 😭 its her 1 personality trait.

[@PGbutalsofourteenplus]

It’s really a personality if it’s only this ONE traitI meant it’s NOT really a personality if its only this one trait , since personalities are a series of traits

[@NeyamStar]

​@@PGbutalsofourteenplus eh

[@brettt141]

@@PGbutalsofourteenplus its a personality in the sense of the writers. The writers are making a script and they are like Okay we need Maya to kill everyones mood, what can we have her say?

[@chickofmusic001]

Such a shame they write black girls in a bad light. Why couldn’t she a pleasant character instead of “woke” and obnoxious

[@zerodiamond4206]

I was in Penny's position once, I hung out with them because I thought I had no one. It wasn't until the one I trusted betrayed me the most and I found a new friend that made me feel good about myself that I decided to cut out those people for good. I'm doing much better now because of it

[@johnpaulcastillo8403]

Me too. Worse friends

[@TonyTurner]

Glad to know you found better ‼

[@miabrown4535]

Y'all so get it cuz almost all my friends are toxic and I cut a few off but I don't know how to cut the others off. This one friend just keeps coming back after we have beef. What do you not understand that we're not cool. I used to have three besties but now I have one. Yeah her has been friends for 7 whole years and right now we have a situation that we're going through. And then this is how I'm treated. Like she'll treat all of the other ones more better and somewhat not me. I mean me and her are still tight but u know the change.

[@GarkKahn]

Same here During high school years had 2 group of "friends" The 1st was just toxic as hell while the other simply didn't care if i was there or not, i cared about them but i was the only one that cared about me so i decided to leave them behind

[@novatedder8644]

Honestly I was hoping Penny would drop Lacienega and Djony in the proud reboot and have the gross sisters or the chang triplets join the group. Like the gross sisters,Miron,Michael and the chang triplets are way better friends. Also I don't think Zoe or Sticky as toxic friends cuz most of the time they had penny's back

[@battybuddy]

Yeah, Zoe may have had her moments of selfishness, but she was in no way LaCienega or Dijonay.

[@TheFlash-vb9bj]

In the reboot Penny turned on her in a episode.

[@dustyrose192]

@@battybuddyZoe is the fair waether friend, she's not someone you can rely on

[@leannasullender8482]

Zoey technically wasn't on her own but she gave into peer pressure too easily

[@leannasullender8482]

@@battybuddy yeah but lecienga was more a frienemy and dejonay was so horrible she was the worst of them sometimes even sugar mamma pointed it out in the original series.

[@dinosaysrawr]

Penny's crappy friend group is probably one of the most unfortunately-realistic and tragically-relatable aspects of the show. Many people can unfortunately relate to feeling like the Zoey of our friend group, or begrudgingly tolerating a LaCienega or a Dijonay, or always limping back to the friend group that completely blew up or threw us or another friend under the bus last week. What I kind of wish, though, is that Disney didn't just treat this as all acceptable and normal, even though I realize it helps to maintain the sitcom status quo. Kids *should* feel like they have a right to tell a toxic friend or a toxic friend clique to buzz off, and that they'll actually be better for it if they do.

[@rdkirk3834]

It's not Disney, it's the writers. Disney has plenty of shows that show good friendships. I think this is all on the black writers who are locked into making every aspect of black life a _struggle._ And that's sad.

[@dinosaysrawr]

@@rdkirk3834 , ooh, that's a superb point; thank you!

[@a.t.trujillo9970]

Penny Proud probably has like one of the worst friend groups next to the Bratz because their friend group is very terrible the act like they're all best friends but it actually reality if they all want something and only one of them can get it they will go and kill each other to get that one thing and solve the people that they called friends under the rug but at least when they're not doing that they look like good friends unlike Penny's friend group which is the absolute worst and Penny should have dropped them and never looked back at them because they are toxic they are terrible people and I feel like the only two people have friends who were even kind of good people were Penny and Zoe who should have both left that friend group and then never look back at those terrible people who deserve to rot in hell for being the worst of the worst

[@davidwallgren7575]

@@dinosaysrawr BTW, it may be a different studio, but Pixar's Turning Red has a friend group that's the total opposite of Penny's.

[@dinosaysrawr]

@@davidwallgren7575 , and that friend group is awesome!

[@LizWhite.]

I would actually love an episode where Penny has new genuine friends 💕

[@ultimatebishoujo29]

Same

[@TheFlash-vb9bj]

Me too.

[@austinmcneil8775]

Me too

[@DarkCrystalSage]

I'm half tempted to write a crossover fic for this cause uh, literally anyone would be better and genuine friends than those fake bitches. Hell, Draco Malfoy would be a better friend because he at least cuts to the point....the fact I had to use that prat as an example says a lot when comparing people...dear hades.

[@LizWhite.]

@@DarkCrystalSage you should write a crossover! Like there should be new friends for Penny who are genuine and it’ll teach her original friends a lesson to cherish those who always had your back

[@phillinsogood]

Lacianega was secretly jealous of Penny, Dijonay was two faced because she wanted to be popular & Zoey was a follower. Sticky was somewhat a better friend to penny. She should’ve been friends with the gross sisters, Myron, Agatha ordinario and maybe even wizard Kelly’s son

[@amylee8969]

The Chang triplets are nice too. And well mannered.

[@dragonninjaghostgirl7981]

If Sticky voice actor didn’t get into trouble, he would had return snd not replace by that hypocrite activist Maya.

[@headquarterproductions1484]

the most unrealistic part of that college episode is that Penny didn't drop them like hot garbage and have college friends

[@JSluvzanime]

The most irritating thing about penny’s friends is the lack of character growth, they may be apologetic for doing something wrong in one episode. But turn around and do the same thing in another episode. Nobody learns their lesson. This is especially the case with dijonay who supposed be penny’s BEST friend. Smh

[@weeping.angel27]

My friends and I were talking about the Proud Family show, and we all agreed that Penny's "friends" were fake. Tbh, I feel like Penny won't leave them because she felt like no one else would be her friend. Penny have to make boundaries for herself and let them go. About praying for downfalls, I had that happened to me before, and it's a long story.

[@leannasullender8482]

well that was part of it but I am not saying she's a bad person but their were "nerds" but that were nice that she could have given them a chance but she felt above them but as other also said the change triplets and even the gross sisters were better to her than that but she wanted popularity status

[@weeping.angel27]

@@leannasullender8482 popularity ain't everything tbh... Penny has to see that...

[@leannasullender8482]

@@weeping.angel27 yeah she's a kid hopefully she mature someday it was kinda hard to see how she treated that guy name escape me but the guy with the inhaler would have been nice if she apologized to him in the reboot

[@RinaIsForever]

Sticky and Michael granted, they weren't perfect they had there moments ofc, BUT they were better than her "girl group" friends

[@missebone]

We all know Dijonay holds the award for the worst friend ever.

[@TonyTurner]

Definitely ‼

[@dragonninjaghostgirl7981]

Really. I know Dijonay is the worst friend but I find Dodie a lot worst on being a friend.

[@missebone]

@@dragonninjaghostgirl7981 Oh make no mistake Dodie's right up there with her I can't believe she plotted against her to get Darren to break up with Ginger I think after that if I were ginger I would stop talking to her completely

[@TheNeos07]

Out of all the cartoons I've watched in my thirty plus years of life, I've never seen a friend group that was the very definition of toxic. I keep wishing Penny will listen to her grandma's advice and stop hanging with people that bring her down. Let's be real here, Dijonay and LaCienga have gotten worse in the reboot than they were in the original. The former should've been cut out of Penny's life after that babysitting incident when she finally called her out for being a horrible friend. I honestly feel that the writers just don't know what direction they want this show to go in by constantly showing that everyone deals with toxic people and that you can't be rid of them no matter what (unless that's their real message). But hopefully in season three, Penny will finally wise up and just end things permanently.

[@SupportGamin2024]

Plot twist:The gross sisters were More so Penny's true friends than her so called(Fake) friends

[@ultimatebishoujo29]

That’s true

[@billdeco08]

Exactly. Like the episode where Lacianega purposely threw her party the same night as Penny's, the Gross Sisters were kind enough to go to Pennys, where they could've instead crashed Lacianega's party and ruined it to help Penny out

[@davidwallgren7575]

​@billdeco08 So true. Also, the Gross sisters may have been bullies, but they weren't one-dimensional. Same thing has happened with Harold Berman, Burford Van Stomm, and Nelson Muntz.

[@aacsmiles]

Penny Proud 🤝 Ginger Foutley 2000s slice of life cartoon protagonists with some fake ass friends.

[@dragonninjaghostgirl7981]

Big time. Even Rocko and Jimmy Neutron who friends are not so great sometimes even turn against them are still better friends than Penny and Ginger’s horrible friends.

[@haileybalmer9722]

Something that always threw me about ATBG is that Ginger hangs out with the absolute losers who do nothing but crush her spirit. Courtney was mean and nasty, but she kind of wanted to be Ginger's friend, and she took it way better when Ginger set boundaries. Did Dodie really want to be Ginger's friend? I don't think she did.

[@dragonninjaghostgirl7981]

@@haileybalmer9722I wouldn’t say Courtney was mean or nasty just thinks the world revolves about her. But she WAY more of a saint than Dodie is.

[@aacsmiles]

@@haileybalmer9722 the funny thing is, Courtney wasn’t even mean and nasty. Spoiled and self-centered, sure, but she was rarely ever mean to someone outside of standing up for herself. She had Ginger’s back way more than Dodie did. Remember that episode where Dodie & Maci teamed up with Miranda & Mipsy to break up Ginger & Darren. (By making it look like Ginger was cheating!!) Courtney stepped in and exposed their asses.

[@pusheenqueen519]

Shocked this video is less than two hours long. There's too much to say; honestly, I hate how often a group of girl friends are portrayed as jealous, drama prone, toxic, backstabbing fakes. Those people exist but there's a difference between realist, three dimensional characters and stereotyping.

[@TonyTurner]

I didn't think ppl would want to watch a video that long 👀

[@pusheenqueen519]

​@@TonyTurnerAu contraire. Never under estimate the time some people are willing to invest on their fixations lol. 😂

[@conymadrid7819]

The Chang triplets or even the Gross sisters would be better friends for Penny than her fake friends imo. Like fr, Penny has some of the fault here for not setting real boundaries. Yes, she has got mad at her "friends" and confronted them but still stayed being in that toxic friendship. (Michael is the most decent friend Penny has recently, maybe Maya too, but the rest, nah)

[@maxpokebruh27]

Again it's the show being way too over the top. We've seen questionable friends in shows like Ed Edd n Eddy but Penny's friends take things too far. Sticky was the only reliable friend that Penny had. I felt bad for Zoe for the awful Colorism episode but then I remember how Zoe would just follow along with the crowd and abandon Penny. The show does tend to use real life experiences with the characters and plots but dang not everyone had bad friends. I have friends that go way back with me, some longer than others but I've known the same 7 guys for more than a decade.

[@kymo6343]

I was just thinking who else had as many crap friends as Penny in a cartoon and EEnE was the only other cartoon I could think of but even then at least the Ed's had each other for the most part. Eddy sucked but at least Ed and Edd were cool. XD;;

[@highlandave8507]

@@kymo6343 I sometimes argue Eddy was the biggest reason the other kids would outcast them. Too many times I have seen the kids, even Kevin, get along with Ed and Edd by themselves.

[@medtle1]

Sticky was the closest penny had to a "friend" and even he wasn't that great of a friend at times. [I know lacienga is known as the most popular girl at their school, but the amount of times sticky sided with lacienga over penny is ridiculous, especially since sticky is supposedly the "rational" one of penny's friends and has known her for a long time. Also, sticky not contacting penny after moving makes no sense, especially since oscar doesn't blow a tantrum whenever penny and sticky hangout.]

[@Michaeljefferson9000]

@@highlandave8507 Kevin was kind of a bully. The only one he sometimes got along with was Edd. After binging the series again last week, I feel like there was a lot of peer pressure in the Cul De Sac, because the only two kids that actively disliked the Eds were Kevin and Sarah. Jimmy, Rolf, Nazz, and Jonny were more or less neutral to them, with Nazz and Rolf being pretty friendly most of the time. However, when Keven starts insulting the Eds, everyone else tends to fall in line. The only characters everyone actually hated were the Kankers, and that was understandable because they were much worse bullies than Kevin.

[@medtle1]

@@Michaeljefferson9000 Sarah has a crush on Edd and loves her big brother Ed (even though she can't stand him at times), but she didn't like them a lot of the times probably because she either saw all 3 the same as the annoying big bro or all 3 as eddy. Sarah hates Eddy the most (because he's a sleazy scammer). However, I don't think Sarah would be able to convince a whole bunch of kids and teens to hate the eds. Kevin was definitely a bully who represents the popular jock bully that ruled the school (or cul de sac). Kevin would definitely be able to convince a bunch of kids and teens to hate the eds. Nazz, johnny, and Rolf were friendly to neutral to everybody. [It is almost amazing that the creators didnt write nazz as a queen bee character since she was written to be the female character that almost all of the guys fall for because she is considered attractive (by conventional beauty standards).] Jimmy didn't seem to mind Ed and edd, but he definitely did not like eddy. The kankers were terrible, but I do wonder how the show would have turned out if the creators had decided to continue the route of may finding her identity outside of her sisters.

[@geardog24]

This just makes me wish they would make an episode where Penny hangs out with the Chang triplets. They at least have some loyalty about them.

[@medtle1]

Anyone remember the episode where penny's "friends" took a ripoff karate class but penny's parents told her to take the karate class with the chang triplets since it was legit? We need at least one follow-up to that episode.

[@geardog24]

@@medtle1 you mean where she actually knows how to fight and stops getting bullied by the Gross sisters? Yeah that would be nice.

[@medtle1]

@@geardog24 yeah. Also, one of the chang sisters could tell penny to dump her toxic friends. (It could have been maya and kg, but since the creators of the show don't want to do that and closest we have gotten so far is maya briefly implying/stating that penny needs to stand up to her parents and suga mama telling penny to dump her dijonay (and penny didn't listen to them), someone else has to tell penny to dump her toxic friends. The closest candidates are either one of the gross sisters, one of the chang sisters, carlos, agatha, or the girl penny swapped families with.)

[@keijijohnson9754]

Out of all the "friends" she's had in both shows, I really feel like Zoey and Sticky are the only ones that I could ever consider to be LEGIT friends Penny would've ever had. They at least feel like they would both have her back more than the other troglodytes would've and they at least help her out from time to time, Sticky especially.

[@battybuddy]

Honestly, I’ve lost faith in the concept of friends. I was kicked out of my friend group based on rumors after fighting cancer for 6 years, and another person calling me toxic behind my back. It sadly made me lose faith.

[@TonyTurner]

I hope you're feeling better now 🙏🏾

[@battybuddy]

@@TonyTurner well, I’m alive. I’m scared to get my life back in order though.

[@RoaringMind]

I’m sorry that you went through that. Please don’t give up on finding true friends, they do exist. Know yourself and know your needs. It will make it easier to find those individuals.

[@thaconqueror777]

When people talk about you they are talking about themselves. It has nothing to do with you. That’s how they talk to themselves on a daily basis. I suggest you to read the 4 agreements if you wanna. Just know you didn’t lose a thing. You got this!

[@battybuddy]

@@RoaringMind I’m trying, but you know, it took a pretty hard hit back then. Even people who had the guy turn on THEM as well say he was worse to ME.

[@blackkitty369]

I hated how this show had given Penny bad friends. At least one would be nice. I wanted the reboot to give her another friend group honestly. For a while I was upset that my friend group went down over the years but as I reflect I'm glad. Not all were bad but it made me value myself and if I do want friends again I have standards to pick good people not who's there at the moment.

[@honeybunches4371]

Right, Penny literally has no one. I thought when they added the new girl she would be a smart activist who was actually a good friend but no

[@blackkitty369]

@@honeybunches4371 Same!

[@alexandriahunt6058]

I'll be honest; Penny's friend group was weirdly relatable to me as a(n undiagnosed autistic) kid. I struggled SO MUCH in elementary with trying to make friends with people. I didn't understand that friendship was supposed to be a give-and-take situation; I always gave to others, and I'd go along with what my "friend" group was doing, even if it was something I KNEW would get us in trouble. Middle school; I got better at making friends. (I think it helped that I wasn't spending time with the same 20 people for 7 hours a day.) I learned how to establish boundaries, but there were still "friends" who made me the butt of jokes, or tried to sculpt me to be their Perfect Friend. And, I tolerated it, because I figured that no one's perfect, and I liked hanging out with this person. To this day, I'm still good friends with 2 people from high school 😌 College; I didn't make any friends because most people thought I was weird. I wasn't dating/married, didn't have children, and didn't drink. There were some nice people I got along with, but once the semester was over, we never spoke to each other again.

[@Celestial7Heavens]

If the show was rebooted by a fan I would make this Penny’s new group of non-fake friends: Michael Duke Kwok Carlos The Gross Sisters The Chang Triplets Radika Zamin Agatha Stephanie

[@firerose4495]

I second that!

[@TonyTurner]

They should all be featured more in the next season ‼

[@alexisjohnson340]

And Stephanie in the Kwanzaa episode

[@medtle1]

Don't forget agatha. Penny was the only one who had her back at the beginning of the singing competition.

[@J-RS21]

Penny has a better relationship with her male friends then her female friends

[@KingOfMumbles485...]

It's sad that her bullies are more friends to her then her real friends.

[@ChristaBlack-gn8ys]

Penny was the only likable character 🤣

[@battybuddy]

More like Carlos. LOL The most likable character was a one episode wonder with a belly full of thunder.

[@IlIluvstrawberries]

Penny is extremely dislikable too

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

Honestly I remember recently rewatching the episode of the original where Penny goes off with the Wizard and becomes like a major star. Where she finally ditches her awful friends and tells them they’ve never been best friends and it was so cathartic. Penny was actually doing something for herself without her toxic friend group. And she was THRIVING. And then she gives it all up for them and DiJonay herself admits she wouldn’t have done the same. So we go through that whole growth and realization just to get to the same conclusion: that Penny’s friends are not worth her sacrifice. You cannot convince me that these are ride or die best friends. This is not the same as Kim and Ron, Raven/Eddie Chelsea, or Jake/Trixie/Spud. These four do not care about each other in the way real friends should. And they are not the type of friends you give up a record deal with the Wizard over. It’s just insanely frustrating.

[@kentalacrucia]

I remember like a year ago a friend and I were talking about the Proud Family and she referred to Penny's friends as "fair-weather friends". I didn't know what that meant and when she explained it to me, it made perfect sense. Out of all of Penny's friends, I think Zoey is the most reliable, though that may just be because I have a soft spot for her. Zoey was always this awkward girl who is still trying to find herself in my eyes so I always excused her behavior, but I always thought out of all of Penny's friends, she was the best one.

[@briasinterlude1755]

In the episode where Penny got struck babysitting Djionay’s siblings, the thing that annoyed me was Djionay actually had an opportunity to deal with the consequences and reflect on her actions. Yet that was ruined when Penny let her into the concert and said “I accept you as you” bullsh*t.

[@bloodmooncomics2249]

Even as a kid I hated how they treated Penny and wanted her to stop hanging out with them. The only one that was loyal was Sticky and he is gone now. Zoey seems like she is not the one leading the abandoning, but she does easily follow, which is not as bad, but still pretty bad. I feel like she has no real friends in the reboot. We see now that they all will dump her even the new characters. Growing up I hung out with a group who always openly made fun of me and bullied me. I was so scared to be alone I just told myself that was how friends were (even though they were never like that to each other). I can totally understand Penny feeling like she needs this group to survive. It is hard to be on your own in school and even harder to find new friends.

[@pandoravex4791]

Honestly, I’ve always hated her friends. I didn’t feel one bit bad for them when Penny got chosen at the lead singer that one episode. Her friends are at the top of the crap list, right beside Dodie from “As told by ginger”. Seriously there needs to be a show that actually teaches kids to identify a toxic friend and actually have the main character leave the toxic “friend”, to show kids it’s okay to do that.

[@ABtheButterfly]

best to worst in IMHO (mostly with the original but also with the reboot) 1: Sticky (original only) 2: Zoey 3: Maya (reboot only not as much history but she's not as bad two friends below her) 3: LaCienega 4: Dijonay

[@firerose4495]

The only reason I'm watch this reboot is for Penny to finally cut ties with her toxic friends. Seriously, when will it happen?!😡

[@TonyTurner]

Let's see what happens in Season 3 👀

[@firerose4495]

@@TonyTurner I hope so.

[@CLJordanMusic91]

So the three that stand out to me are Sticky, Maya, and Michael. Yeah Sticky has had moments, but have been very few and far in between. Same as Michael. Now with Maya, they started off bad, then grew into a genuine friendship. The show let them grow over time

[@taylornusteling8692]

I'd say that people stick with toxic people because like you said it's familiar-(they may have grown up with toxicity around them), they're not confident within themselves/have low self-esteem, they don't want to let go of the good memories that they have with that toxic person, they don't believe that they'll find anybody else-( frankly someone better), they're afraid of loneliness or being on their own. I'm guilty of this, but I've cut those people out of my life and it's much healthier now.

[@kaiumeda6341]

Not to mention the worst parents & grandparents & siblings

[@TonyTurner]

👀👀👀

[@battybuddy]

This is honestly why I DIDNT like the proud family, and why I don’t understand why it was liked so much. I mean, there ARE real life issues with some friendship groups, but at the same time, most people would drop them. With LaCeanica, she was only part of the friend group because Dijonay was her friend, so I never really consider her a friend. I really don’t get how Maya became friends… admittedly I never saw the new series, but if she’s the new kid… why is she friends?

[@PoohBear7747]

Agreed. If I had friends that betrayed disappointed me in every situation, I would stop being friends with them. Treat people the way you want to be treated...

[@ultimatebishoujo29]

Same here

[@fizzleberrypoptwist1485]

Agreed brother!✊

[@sailorsister211]

Good friends are hard to come by. I think is realistic. I have had friends like Penny's. I was the butt of the joke. I had friends who took advantage of my kindness. I also seen it in other friend groups. Where they look close, they decorate each other lockers on their birthdays, they hang with each after school, and hug each other when they see each other in the hallways. However, I have later witness them getting into physically fights and talk behind each other back. One thing I believe Penny still hangs around with her fake ass friends is bc of Trudy. She never really took her side or believe her when it came to her conflict with Lacienga. The party is another example. Penny did the right thing by slamming the door on her fake ass friends face when they ditch her party to hang out with Lacienga. However, Trudy told her to invited them in, that it will make her feel much better. Way to teach your daughter to be a doormat. There huge difference between being bigger person and being doormat.

[@nicolesherman8974]

Love the shirt Tony 🔥🔥🔥. And if we’re being honest Lacienaga was the worst. They weren’t really friends fr

[@weeping.angel27]

I agree. She tried to steal Penny's boyfriends.

[@TonyTurner]

Thank You ‼

[@StarViewer68]

In the context of the show, I don’t understand why everyone else in the group puts up with LaCienega. Oh sure, they’ll jump all over Zoey in the colorism episode, but none of them as a group call out LaCienega.

[@weeping.angel27]

Also, I believe LaCienaga was in competition with Penny because they're equally beautiful. So, in a way, LaCienaga feels threatened by Penny. When two beautiful girls are together and don't like one another, there's competition between the two.

[@SOULarLioness]

It's so funny that you got that Whitney Houston shirt on when just before seeing the notification for your upload, I LITERALLY just watched the Whitney/Wendy Williams interview where she dragged the shit outta Wendy within an inch of her life lmaooooo. Hilarious...

[@YourWaywardDestiny]

Friendship isn't always the closest, bestest, always-on-your-side, trust all your secrets to person. Pretty sure expecting that to be the standard is making people more lonely by day, and all you should expect out of friendship is trust and joy in another person. If you're pleased to chat with the guy you always catch the bus with, you have a friend. Not a _close_ friend, but a friend. It's not that Penny shouldn't have been friends with her friends, but she should not have made that her core of people the moment she found someone worth the trust and deeper connection. She's a teenager, so it makes sense that she isn't understanding of that. Of course she's not getting that her friends are bad people (to her, anyway, they obviously haven't found their core either) no matter what else about her, this is something I really like being in the show. Most school-age kids can relate 900% to going back to people who shouldn't be your support, even if they're fine to be called a friend. A lot of adults don't know that lesson, either, so if some parents were watching along with their kids, they should see themselves in this too. As a side note: Adults, get your CORE friendships sorted, please, the drama you put yourselves through is needless.

[@jjworldoffun4125]

IDK if the lilo and stitch crossover is canon but lilo was like her only good friend (the crossover is the only proud family media i have seen BTW)

[@kareyonnadavidson6661]

I don’t understand why Penny is still friends with them

[@ultimatebishoujo29]

I don’t get it either

[@jonelrobinson4039]

Me either

[@ultimatebishoujo29]

@@jonelrobinson4039 in real life, you would ditch such toxic and horrible people. But not Penny nope

[@tranatkikomi6873]

I feel like it’s a desperate cling, like “they treat me like garbage, but without them I’m completely alone” sort of thing.

[@dragonninjaghostgirl7981]

The writers won’t let Penny have common sense on stop being friends with those cliché wannabes.

[@kaylawoodbury2308]

The friends were just narrative devices, they only exist to be the catalysts of the lessons. To be good friends when Penny needed to learn the lesson like when she became a popstar, bad friends when Penny needed to be the one to teach the lesson (like the dangers of gossiping using Dejaney as the catalyst), and just kinda there or even out of the picture when it was a lessonless episode.

[@karnagekarnival5127]

Hot Take: Not having the confidence to outright be an asshole doesn't make someone a good person. Zoe may not often instigate, but she CONSTANTLY chooses the wrong side. I can at least respect someone being selfish, but a follower willing to betray for no reason other than "well they're all doing it"? That's trash. 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@sissysovereign1294]

This is why I gave up on the reboot as well. Her friends(?) Are so insufferable and nobody ever calls them out on their b.s!I was hoping thar they would atleast acknowledge this in the reboot, but it's almost always only Penny who ends up getting hers. I felt slightly bad for Zoey in the poorly written colorist episode and how Penny didn't necessarily speak up on her behalf. But then I had to remember that before that she almost never stuck up for Penny in the reboot or original show whenever the rest of the gang treated her terribly because she was so busy playing follower. But the one time Penny didn't know what to say or how to help her out she's the bad guy? I wish they'd either make Penny ditch them for good and find better friends who actually point out the og group's behavior. There's been too many people calling this out about the franchise for years for the creators to not notice.

[@brittanymclain2559]

Thank you!! All of her friends are fake to Penny! This is why I hated the college episode because I didn't think it was realistic at all I feel like none of them would have stayed friends. Let's be real once we graduated hell probably even graduation night we did not stay friends with the people we went to high school with. Penny would have (hopefully) realized that all of them was fake & not her true friends and got herself a REAL group of friends once she hit college🤷🏽‍♀️

[@TonyTurner]

‼‼‼

[@gabrielribeiro-mills8716]

Penny is a great character, but I never knew she would have such bad friends.

[@TownieSimBuilds]

It's crazy how Penny became the Meg from "Family Guy" in this show. At the same time though, this is a realistic portrayal given that friends can be this toxic.

[@Zuyuri]

As a middle school educator, I’ve seen lots of “friend” groups like this. Part of why they don’t break off is a sense of comfort because it’s a big time of change, and change is scary. As such, they tend to project their own fears towards that one individual who “can take it” because they’re insecure/jealous. Does this excuse the nastiness/unwarranted isolating of one person? No. Would I send this group to the social worker? Yes.

[@khfan4life365]

Even my school bullies weren’t as cruel as Penny’s “friends”.

[@jamestolbert1856]

Why couldn’t she have a moment where decided to stop hanging out with them

[@MiraculousHolder365]

She temporarily did in the original Proud Family episode “A Star is Scorned”.

[@TheFlash-vb9bj]

I would never hang around friends like her. I watch a few episodes and see Penny stick up, does things for them, but they do nothing but give heartache in return. I come to the conclusion that Penny either don't know how to make real friends and is desperate to take anyone that pays her attention, and that is why her fake friends treat her the way they do cause they know that is she not bright. Penny totally has bad judgement on friends and can do better.

[@jazzygryphon]

Definietely have gone through a similar situation as Penny, where I was friends with people who were not serving me any good. My "main group" of friends would talk about me behind my back and exclude me from a lot of things. And my other friends outside of the group only really hung out and talked to me since we were in school together, but as soon as I graduated, I'd say about 90% of those people dropped me faster than a ton of bricks! I'll admit, I was pretty desparate at the time and tried hard to cling on to any friendships I had since I struggled making friends in the first place and really wanted to have friends/a support system since I couldn't rely on family. As I got older, however, I grew out of that. I'd much rather be happy and alone than mess around with people who don't like me or think much of me. There are very few I talk to these days and I am cautious and observant as to how we interact with each other. I will meet others the same way they will meet me. If I feel like a friendship is going nowhere, then we usually end up having a "Facebook friends" kind of relationship. If the friendship is toxic however, I am no longer afraid to leave it all together. I do hope that one day though, I am able to find my own little clan that I click with on all levels.

[@MirandaWeaver]

Yeah, I honestly never liked Penny’s friends. I could only watch like…very few episodes as a kid 😅

[@gabrielleduplessis7388]

I think Penny sticks with these friends because most of the time, it is better than being alone. I felt like I had friends in school and then moving around all of the time messed with that and it was harder to stay in touch. I felt my school acquaintances were friends and then I realized they were just people I talked to in school which wasn’t a bad thing. Now I experience people don’t mind talking to me when we are working together, but I can’t figure out a way to want them to hang out with me outside of work or school. Yes, I am introverted and yes I am working on breaking out of my shell, but it is a two way street. I can’t force people to hang out with me. That is wrong, but it sucks when I feel no one wants to talk to me outside of school or work.

[@user-se3bm1iv8y]

Might have to do with a lack of choice or nostalgia? Penny might not have a lot of options for friends besides the main friend group or she's sticking to them due to nostalgia from better times.

[@Nakia11798]

I'm definitely a Penny Proud. My high-school friends were mostly shit to me, but I kept giving them chances, and then they all abandoned me when I graduated. I've moved on from that BS, but I still struggle to call people friends bc it's easier for them to be acquaintances when they eventually ditch me.

[@sapphirewriter8349]

I had a few people I tried to get as my friend because I was lonely in high school, but it turned out they didn't care about me at all and our 'friendships' were short live. Honestly, rather be alone than have fake friends. At least I ain't gonna stab my own back. I have very few people that I keep close and that's because those people are the rare gems that I can trust.

[@marquishalsell]

I hope that in the 3rd season she'll meet some newer friends and they would stop walking away from her

[@_.BeBe._]

I think people stick to friendships that are toxic due to fear and wanting to stay in their comfort zone. Some people feel that having toxic friends is better than having no friends at all. And, sometimes it's easier to stay in dead-end relationships/jobs/etc because venturing out into the unknown causes a lot of uncertainty and doubt in oneself. I feel that the creators made it a running gag of Penny having bad friends, because on some level mostly everyone has dealt with a fake friend at some point in their lives; I know I have. So, I guess it's relatable in that way. I really hope they show Penny leave that friend group (even if for a few episodes) and show her by herself (enjoying her own company) or with a better friend group.I think showing her going back to her friends after they constantly do her wrong, sends a bad message to younger viewers and it would be nice to see some character growth from her in that department.

[@TonyTurner]

Agree‼

[@simsgirlgem]

In other news water is wet

[@TonyTurner]

And the ocean is deep

[@thestoryauthor1415]

I say the gross sisters had her back way more than her actual “friends”

[@laladesy7352]

Sticky and hell the Gross sisters were always consistent

[@ShizuruRavenRobin026]

She doesn't have friends she has frenemies cuz that's all they are and it'll be completely honest The proud family hit the nail on the head with how some friendships are in Middle through high School especially with girls around

[@paigeturner7513]

This might be controversal but I feel like the Gross Sisters were better friends to Penny than Dijonay or Lacienega; At least with the Gross Sisters you knew what you were getting into. P.S. as a sidenote, I hate Lacienega however I love Sunset and Felix; I always wanted to have a best friend like Sunset also I think the Hispanic Culture is one of the most beautiful cultures ever to exist 😊; that one and a few other ones❤

[@crazyinvaderfangirl1]

A huge reason why I can’t get into the reboot is because I can’t stand Penny’s friends or her parents. I don’t see any logical reason why she still hangs out with those people, and her parents really should know better than to treat her as a third parent. Honestly, most of the cast is unlikable, including sugar mama. I don’t like Oscar, but I don’t like how his mom treats him at all. The show just plays this for laughs though, so I can’t get into it because I think it’s too mean-spirited and not funny. It’s just painful and cringe worthy. Who actually enjoys seeing a nice good character get shit on all the time? It would be different if Penny was a nasty person that “deserved“ the treatment, but she doesn’t, so it’s like what the heck? it’s unfair and it’s never addressed… and it wouldn’t be so jarring if the show wasn’t supposed to be tackling social issues and being progressive. for a “progressive“ show, its pretty colorist and The old show is colorist and racist. That’s why I dropped it back then. 😟

[@tidela4714]

This video was surprisingly very wholesome for me. When you started talking about questioning the friends you have and about the friends you never talked to, specifically. I always struggled in school to make friends … I guess you could say I’ve always been (sort of) a Zoey in that I’m an oddball nerd. But the few friends I did make? Still in my life. Have been for _years,_ even after we were separated from all sorts of things. It really made me realize that I’ve never experienced what you described. I’m thankful.

[@packnetadaija]

I mean yeah Penny’s friend group is so effing toxic it’s not even funny. The only one I sort of like is Zoey, but I know Penny would not be friends with her if Dijony and Lacieniga were like drop her. Like let’s not forget that Dijonay LEFT penny to take care of her 12 brothers and sisters, plus Penny’s siblings and PAID them to be bad on purpose. Like they are legit the most toxic friend group I have EVER seen, and now with Maya in the group too it makes it even worse

[@Bag2218]

At this point Penny just needs to keep in touch with Sticky and stay friends with Michael and KG. It's actually kinda insane how every female friend she has is a different level of awful. Both to her and to each other.

[@brittanyc.4540]

The Proud Family reboot is already renewed for Season 3 and I hope Penny gets the new properly empathetic friends she truly deserves. I loved the original series from the early 2000s so much as a kid. But the only problem I couldn’t stand is Penny’s fake friends. I don’t know what the writers were thinking, giving these toxic kids as her best friends. I watched the reboot and I enjoyed a few fun moments from the show but the series felt “too woke” in my perspective. I hope Penny deserves better emotional treatment in Season 3 by giving her new friends who show empathy, kindness and honesty towards her. If that doesn’t happen then either giving the Gross Sisters, the Chang Triplets or Myron as Penny’s real friends.

[@vjc1599]

Personally, I think that the real problem is not the group of "friends" themselves, but rather how the series treats them and the tone it uses to downplay everything they do wrong. No matter how many times they are toxic, stab people in the back, abandon others or are just terrible friends, the series will eventually tell us something like "friends are friends, forever and ever" there is not a single insinuation or attempt to show how harmful it is to maintain relationships like this, no, according to Proud Family this is a perfect teenage friendship and if you dare to go against this you are the bad guy (I'm looking at you, colorism chapter)

[@imthebossmermaid3648]

I sincerely believe that the writers had some beef with somebody because the show was just overall so negative and mean-spirited. Or they just used the show to let off steam. Either way they let whatever pent-up anger and hate they had out on the poor characters, and the show suffered because of it.

[@pizzadogma]

I feel on a writing standpoint, the writers only made them have drama because they believed it would be funny conflicts to make the show "interesting." Since its an episodic show that relies on relationship drama, penny's friends being toxic as hell would be the plot for each episode, rinse and repeat. Also the writers heavily relies on stereotypes so this could be an instance of the stereotype that "girls groups always have drama and they all secretly hate each other" or "girls can never be friends with other girls"

[@Yams-Hams7734]

Also, a lot of people like Zoe, and even say that she was the only decent friend, but what they don’t understand is that she is by no means a good friend either. She would actively join in sometimes when the other girls picked on Penny, and she did nothing to stop it, if she was a true friend, and had an ounce of sympathy for Penny she would have defended her, but honestly, she’s just as selfish as the rest of the girls are, I feel like as long as she’s not the one being picked on she’ll let it slide, and it’s even worse because she knows full well and good that if that if that situation happened to her, she’d want someone to stick up for her, yet she refuses to do that for someone else. She’s content to join the crowd so long as she’s not at the brunt of their mockery, and in some ways this makes her even worse. She may not be a bad friend, but she’s not by any means a good friend either, like you said she just goes wherever the wind takes her, she’s not a reliable or trustworthy friend either, and her actions are glossed over by the fandom because she doesn’t do anything mean, but she still allows it to happen, therefore she contributes to the problem, and the fact that she would surround herself with people that are mean, selfish, and hostile like this says something about her too. Honestly it seems like all the girls have some self-image problems, and issues with self-esteem, because why would you spend your time with people that don’t have your best interests at heart, I think that’s ultimately why Penny stays with them, even though she knows they’re horrible, she thinks she can’t find other friends that are better, and fears being alone, but honestly there’s nothing wrong with that either, it’s way better to be alone than to be surrounded by toxic people.

[@mayaalieva938]

Well now I'm wondering if Penny has an real friends on this show? Lol. I know it's just a cartoon, but I grew up with this.

[@smorphous8928]

The least toxic person in Penny’s friend group has to be Zoey, she’s constantly walking on eggshells when constantly near her friends

[@ursomajor5607]

It’s shows and videos like this that really make you question your friends. Like, would so and so stick up for me? But then you also have to question, would I stick up for so and so?

[@annnnne]

I’ve never watched an episode of this show but I tune in for every one of your videos!! You’re so good at this.

[@TonyTurner]

Thank You ‼

[@qwertasdcfghjklmo24z]

9:25 yep, that is pretty much it. The "friends" I had were just there because we went to school together and because our mothers knew each other. No loyalty, no true friendship, and yes guys act the way Dijonay does too. I had one loyal friend until age 6 then he moved away, trash friends until age 16, made a a decent friends for a year then he moved away, back to trash friends until I developed the courage to ditch them and be a loner. This as my situation until age 27 when I made a great friend, we were friends for 5 years until he married and yes, you guessed it moved away and we lost contact. I made a few decent friends at work but rarely hang out outside of work. They are good people. I do wish I had proper childhood friends though.

[@obnoxiouslegofan]

If I were Penny, I would ditch Dijonay as quick as lightning...

[@erikamartinez5993]

Im an only child and moved alot. what i noticed and raised was blood is thicker than water and who you knew the longest beats out the people who were there for you. From my own experience you can be the best person in the universe they will still choose the toxic friend because they knew them since 6th grade

[@sparxstreak02]

3:41 Not just Dijonay’s 9 brothers & sisters (I checked) but Penny’s own brother & sister on TOP of that 😵‍💫 all under the age of 13!

[@TheRehabKat]

Ive actually been rewatching the original PF and as an adult now, it kind of appalls me how flaky and shady all her friends were ! They were the exact definition of fairweather friends ... and that really affects you as a person honestly ! Let alone a little kid ! So im just glad the majority can agree on that and that we do better by friends.

[@puppydawg-vb1mu]

Zoey time to time and the other guy I forgot his name are her true friends

[@chronicles6065]

Great video Bro! My genuine friend grouo is comprised of about 6 people that I actually talk to. High School, College, and Work them folks was just acquaintances and that was it. People stay in toxic relationships because it is not only familiar, but most importantly they don't feel like trying to make new friends because building relationships can be exhausting physically and mentally so people just settle and accept their suffering. In terms of Pennys friends they would have all been cut off the only friend I feel like she had was Sticky and he was absolutely flawed, but it seemed like he was there for her way more than the others ever was. Secondly, I could not imagine having a frenemy apart of my friend groups its a hell no for me because they would get blessed out and I wouldn't even allow somebody in my space that has hidden jealousy, or dislike for me because thats a dangerous person to have that close to you.

[@jamestolbert1856]

What if there was an arc where Dijonay starts to show her true colours and Lacienaga start to become friends with Penny as she starts to get lonely and stops being superficial.

[@sparxstreak02]

7:42 To be fair, Sticky’s parents were going through a divorce in that ep & he joined the Altos gang as a way to try deal with his anger from it but still didn’t personally agree with them taking people’s money (& even tried to get the girls money back at some point - before being forced to swipe it back to save face in front of the gang) None of this excuses him doing this but unlike LaCienega or Dijonay it wasn’t out of anything personal against Penny.

[@GiftedSince92GiftedSince92]

Great video bro! You summed it up. Period!!! Situations like fake friendships are complicated. I just hate she always got disrespected. Keep up the amazing work!!!

[@TonyTurner]

Thank You ‼

[@GiftedSince92GiftedSince92]

@@TonyTurner Your welcome!

[@Nectarisa]

I love your M&M cup collection lol

[@bizzyb912]

I often felt Penny should’ve taken off as Pene’ and found new friends.

[@dragonninjaghostgirl7981]

The only real friendship I see in Proud Family is Oscar and Trudy’s best friends Felix and Sunset. They had there flaw moments but still better at being friends than their daughter is to Penny.

[@ajstudios9210]

They are indeed fake and Maya's a recent addition to the toxicity. Sadly what she goes through is something we have all experienced in real life. I have myself. However, Penny is part of the problem because she always come back to them no matter how bad they were. They continue to treat her bad because they know she's always gonna come back. The day she drops all of them, especially Dijonnay, is the day she will finally be free of all this suffering. The Gross sisters have literally been better friends to her than her real friends. If she stuck around with them, they could probably teach her a few things about sticking up for herself and not continuing to take crap from these fake friends of hers. I have been a fan of this show for over 20 years and the fact that they haven't changed in the reboot is just sad. LaCienega is trash, but at least she doesn’t hide from Penny that she doesn’t like her.

[@jensendavenport1406]

Hope yall having a blessed Sunday hey tony

[@ajstudios9210]

It's ironic how Michael would even ridicule Penny despite not liking being the subject of a gay joke.

[@Neku628]

I'm surprised Penny didn't turn into the Harriet the Spy when her friends backstabbed her because her bully read her journal in front of everyone.

[@ultimatebishoujo29]

I’m surprised about that too

[@1_2stepisbanned]

Some people stick with toxic friends out of a sense of loyalty. They want to prove themselves as real friends, and real friends stand by you through good and bad times. But that can hold them back from seeing that their loyalty is not reciprocated or appreciated

[@reginaldsekyere5638]

I like your work🎉🎉,keep going

[@TonyTurner]

Thank You ‼