Matthew Perry slurs and stammers in a new Friends Reunion promo, leaving his fans concerned

Worrisome: Matthew Perry raised concerns after appearing to slur his speech in a teaser for the upcoming Friends reunion, which airs later this month. Image Via YouTube

Friends fans are concerned after star Matthew Perry appeared to slur his speech in a promotional video for the upcoming reunion special.

Perry's uncomfortable attitude was difficult to overlook as he sat with co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc to tease the episode, which was filmed in April and will air on HBO and HBO Max on May 27.

While with the audience, the 51-year-old actor stammered and stared, slurring his words at one point.

When asked if he ever took something from the set as a souvenir, he confessed, 'I stole the cookie jar with the clock on it,' with a heavy 'sh' sound at the beginning of the phrase.

Matthew's physical appearance was on the healthy side, with less ruddy skin and a pearly white smile, despite his stilted expression.

As David and Matt giggled and grinned at the TV star, who played Chandler Bing on the NBC hit, his castmates were able to mask their worries.

Fans, on the other hand, were quick to express their concerns.

One fan wrote on Twitter, "Just saw People interview and can't believe how Matthew Perry looks... truly it breaks my heart."

'It hurts me to see Matthew Perry like this; he just seems off, staring into space and speaking slowly,' wrote another.

'I hate to say it, but I'm sad and afraid for Matthew Perry,' said a third. 'Damn, those PEOPLE Friends interviews with Matthew Perry.'

'Just watched @people exclusive interview clip of Friends casts and the time hasn't been kind,' another tweeted. I'm hoping Matthew Perry is doing well. I can't tell you how much I adore them.'

'When Matthew Perry learned there would be a "Friends" reunion, he thought he'd be reuniting with his pal cocaine,' a Twitter user joked.

'Let's not use the friends reunion to make fun of the way Matthew Perry looks these days,' wrote another, adding, 'Let's not use the friends reunion to make fun of the way Matthew Perry looks these days.' Men, oddly enough, age.

'Since Friends ended in 2004, Matthew has been through a lot. Instead of being critical, be polite. If you think making fun of him is amusing, hard block me rn.'

Perry has previously spoken out about his past problems with addiction, telling People that things got 'out of control and very dangerous' after a 1997 jet-ski crash left him addicted to Vicodin.

Matthew revealed to BBC Radio 2 in 2016 that his addiction had left him in a bad place.

'I don't recall watching [the show] for three years,' he admitted. 'Between Seasons 3 and 6,' says the narrator... 'I was a bit dazed.'

Perry was humiliated after a match from the dating app Raya leaked a video message sent by the star, prompting the awkward teaser.

During a flirty exchange, the Friends actor allegedly asked the 19-year-old teen, 'Am I as old as your father?'

Perry, who is engaged to fiancée Molly Hurwitz, 29, can be seen flirting with TikTok user @kittynichole - real name Kate Haralson - who says they met on the membership-only dating service in May last year, in a video posted on Thursday.

'When you match with Matthew Perry as a joke on a dating app and he facetimes you and plays 20 questions with you,' Haralson, now 20, captioned the video.

Perry is seen laughing as he asks his potential date, 'Do you always play with your hair this much?' in the 16-second video. 'I think so,' she says, giggling.

Haralson, a personal assistant who claims she was 19 when Perry first approached her, told PageSix on Thursday that she wanted to show how older men in Hollywood are using dating apps to exploit younger women.

'A lot of people said I was a bully and rude for posting this, which made me feel awful, but at the same time, I feel like a lot of guys in Hollywood are talking to all these young girls, and I think a lot of people should be aware of that,' she told the outlet.

According to Haralson, the FaceTime conversation took place in May of last year, around the time Perry and his new fiancée Hurwitz, whom he had been dating since 2018, had a brief breakup.

The LA-based PA said she had previously matched with other actors but would 'never speak to older men,' even though she thought conversing with the Friends actor would be 'funny.'

Though Perry's Friends teaser and unsuitable Raya pairing raised some eyebrows, fans were overjoyed when the first teaser for the upcoming special was released on Wednesday.

The actors filmed the special at Stage 24 at Warner Bros. Studios in Los Angeles, where the show was shot for its entire 10-season run.

Aniston joined Cox and LeBlanc on their old couch for a revamped quiz game with Schwimmer, Kudrow, and Perry in the film's opening scene.

David's character, Ross Geller, stood at the trivia board, recreating a memorable scene from the show.

'Rachel sent Ross a letter and insisted that he read it before they reconciled. 'How long was that letter?' he inquired of the party.

'18 pages!' yelled Matt, who played Joey Tribbiani, only for Aniston to correct him: 'front and back!'

'Wait, wait, do it again!' Courteney yelled back.

As Lisa Kudrow walked onto the Warner Bros. lot, Matt exclaimed, 'Here we go!' she was taken aback.

Jennifer was visibly moved as she asked, "Where is the tissue box?"

'Are Courteney's lines still written on the table?' Matt inquired as he walked through the old apartment package.

'This show has given us such a connection,' Lisa described as she sat on the show's famous orange couch from the beginning.

'Did Ross and Rachel go on a date?' Jennifer and Courteney yelled 'yes!' when host James Corden asked the audience.

As David chuckled and pointed, Matt picked up his cup of coffee and muttered under his breath, "bulls***."

The first table read was the 'first time I laid eyes on all of you,' Lisa confessed, while Schwimmer remarked that everyone was 'so perfectly cast.'

'I recall going to the director of the show I was on and he told me, 'That show isn't going to make you a star," she says. Jennifer remembered something.

Jennifer bent down to console Perry as he stuttered over his sentences and said, 'I'm going to cry now,' in one of several touching moments.

From 1994 to 2004, David Crane and Marta Kauffman formed Friends, which they executive produced with Kevin Bright through Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions in collaboration with Warner Bros. Television.

According to reports from April, the reunion special was shot over three days and had a live audience.


Justin Bieber, Cindy Crawford, Lady Gaga, and David Beckham are among the celebrities expected to join the cast in some way.

The reunion will also include Cara Delevingne, Tom Selleck, BTS, Kit Harington, Mindy Kaling, and Malala Yousafzai.

On May 27, HBO's Max special will premiere.

Publish : 2021-05-20 11:01:00

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