Why are fans worried about Matthew Perry’s health in the ‘Friends’ reunion?

Few pieces of news have made people as delighted as that of the long-awaited Friends reunion. The official Friends Instagram account made the first announcement, “That’s a wrap! Could we BE anymore excited!? Friends: The Reunion is coming to @hbomax.” In a very small teaser, HBO announced the details of the reunion on 13th May, calling it “The One Where They Get Back Together.” 

In the teaser, all six cast members aka friends are walking hand-in-hand to the set to the beats of the iconic theme song. Later, it was announced that the reunion will be aired on 27th May & the first full trailer was revealed. Reportedly, all six friends will be paid at least $2.5 million each for their role. 

The highly anticipated reunion will be hosted by James Corden & aired on HBO Max. Of course, Friends fans aren’t restricted to one geography, so fans as far as India & Australia began asking if they’ll have access to the episodes. Later it was announced that different streaming platforms will have the privilege to host the show: HBO Go in Asia, Binge in Australia, and Zee5 in India.

Not only are the original friends — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer — bringing back the magic, the special will also be executive produced by Friends creators Marta Kauffman & David Crane, as well as original Friends producer Kevin Bright. 

The spicier details

What we know so far is that it won’t a typical revival, but a reunion of sorts: there will be smaller re-enactments, a James Corden-moderated conversation, and it will also feature a table read. 

David Schwimmer had also mentioned to Graham Norton in April, “I’ll be David. Nothing is scripted, and we are not in character. We are all ourselves, although there is one section of it that I don’t want to give away, but we all read something.” Withholding information to keep the excitement going, the fans will take it. 

There’s also a huge guest stars line-up, according to the HBO Max announcement. Stars will include David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon, and Malala Yousafzai.

Matthew Perry in health peril?

After the cast’s recent interview with People Magazine, fans have been more excited than ever. But one worry has taken them away from the excitement: Matthew Perry, who infused the character of Chandler with humor & charisma, looks unwell. Fans have been expressing concern that the actor was exhibiting stroke-like symptoms throughout the interview. 

The actor had a rough time at the peak of his career when he was struggling with substance abuse & had even mentioned that a period of time was completely swept off his memory due to that. Now 51, he’s done a lot of stints in recovery to come out of it. Lately, he’s also become active in his professional life with roles in The Odd Couple, The Good Fight, among others. 

It's really disheartening whenever Friends is brought up and people feel the need to talk shit about Matthew Perry's appearance. He's struggled with addiction and been through so much but y'all are so concerned about his looks when you should just be grateful he's still alive.

— Strawberry Fields ミ☆ (@sunflxwervolsix) May 19, 2021

Other fans are coming to his side, explaining that addiction & recovery often changes our body & that it’s distasteful to comment on someone’s body or behavior when they’ve been through so much. 

One fan wrote, “It’s really disheartening whenever Friends is brought up and people feel the need to talk shit about Matthew Perry’s appearance. He’s struggled with addiction and been through so much but y’all are so concerned about his looks when you should just be grateful he’s still alive.”

I have 0 interest in the Friends reunion (happy many are excited tho) but those shaming Matthew Perry's appearance, speech, etc last night need to fuck all the way off. Dude had a massive battle with addiction and is still here, alive, making this happen for you. Be grateful.

— Pat Dubois (@patdubois) May 20, 2021

Even those who aren’t avid Friends fans chimed in, “I have 0 interest in the Friends reunion (happy many are excited tho) but those shaming Matthew Perry’s appearance, speech, etc last night need to fuck all the way off. Dude had a massive battle with addiction and is still here, alive, making this happen for you. Be grateful.”

Meanwhile, everyone’s excitedly rewatching the series for a good dose of nostalgia.