The idiot Friends were pulling down a million an episode ten years ago.
It's 15 years ago.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_One_(Friends)
And not only was it one of (if not the) most popular television shows, it also was part of the last days of broadcast TV as the almost sole source of entertainment for the country.
Today is a much different situation. For example, I had never even heard of the show, let alone this guy before the hoax he orchestrated. I don't watch TV, but I do know the names of most of the popular programs.
As an example, Friends finale pulled in 52.5 Million viewers, 15 years ago. They averaged 22 Million viewers that season. Big Bang Theory's current season average: 12 Million viewers. 15 years later and the most popular TV show is pulling in 10 million fewer viewers.
What's that got to do with Smollett? Nothing, I just thought it was interesting. And since I went down this rabbit hole, I took all of you with me.