Matthew Perry’s ‘slurred’ speech in Friends Reunion explained as Chandler Bing star was rushed into ‘painful procedure’ before filming

Matthew Perry’s speech appeared to be slurred during the Friends Reunion because he was fresh from dental surgery.

The first trailer of the long-awaited special, which airs on HBO and Max and Sky One from May 27, arrived last week, with the cast – made up of Matthew, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBLanc, Lisa Kudrow, and David Schwimmer – re-enacting an iconic scene.

Jennifer was also seen consoling an emotional Matthew, and fans noticed his speech seemed slurred.

According to sources close to the Chandler Bing star, he required emergency dental work just hours before joining his cast mates to be interviewed for the reunion.

‘Matthew turned up to the reunion [in April] and members of his team said that he had an emergency tooth procedure that day,’ an insider told The Sun.

‘That was said to impact his wellbeing and also how he was feeling. [Matthew] had been in pain from what we understand, which caused the slurred speech.

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‘Obviously no one wants to film after a procedure, but it happened,’ they continued.

‘The feeling was one of huge sympathy for Matthew especially in recent days given how people have reacted online.

‘Matthew has told those around him that he is sober, and there is no need to worry.’

Concern from Friends fans came as the 51-year-old previously discussed his battle with alcoholism, admitting he ‘doesn’t remember three years’ of filming Friends at all.

 ‘I was a little out of it at the time — somewhere between seasons three and six,’ he told BBC News.

The Friends Reunion will finally air in the UK and US on May 27 after facing a year’s worth of delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.

An all-star cast of celebrity guests will be making an appearance with James Corden hosting, but the line-up has already been slammed for missing any Black stars when the sitcom has been widely criticised over its lack of diversity.

Metro.co.uk has contacted Matthew Perry’s reps for comment on this story.  

The Friends Reunion is available to stream on HBO Max and NOW from May 27 and will air on Sky One tomorrow at 8pm.

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