David Schwimmer. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and actor David Schwimmer bonded on Friday over their shared struggle with their critical Jewish mothers.

Schwimmer appeared on Emanuel’s podcast “Chicago Stories” to talk about the new production he is directing, called “Plantation!” He told Mayor Emanuel, “My mom without a question is my toughest critic. I have so many stories.” The former Friends star also explained that his parents attend every show he puts on and after the play is over, “I will embrace my parents and hug them and thank them for coming and brace myself for the first thing out of my mom’s mouth. Because it can be devastating.”

“You are definitely a Jewish boy,” Mayor Emanuel told Schwimmer. He acts the same way, he said, and added, “We need another two hours about this [topic].”

The mayor also offered to attend the opening night of “Plantation!” with Schwimmer’s mother to shield the actor from her. “I’ll sit with mom. I would occupy mom for at least the first ten minutes so she doesn’t walk over,” he pledged. “I know what that means, man. I got one!”

“But you have to do one thing,” Emanuel said, “At a speech you get Marsha Emanuel. If I’m taking your mom, you’re taking Marsha Emanuel.” Schwimmer then promised to “charm Marsha like she’s never been charmed.”

Emanuel explained that he typically pushes off speaking to his mother for as long as he can after delivering an important speech. He will instead, he stated, “wait five or six people before I go over to Mom.” He called the move “the Jewish young man’s survival kit.”

During the interview Schwimmer also talked about using the money he received for his bar mitzvah to produce a play in Scotland when he was a junior in college.