Matthew Perry embraces his inner Chandler Bing to sell Friends merch after sparking fans’ concern

Matthew Perry appears to be brushing off fan concern over his apparent slurred speech in a promo for the upcoming Friends reunion special.

The 51-year-old star went full Chandler Bing on social media in a limited edition hoodie emblazoned with the words ‘Could I BE More ME?’ – a play on his characters famous catch phrase – in a post on Thursday.

On Instagram, Perry directed his fans to check out his new Friends merch store, which will be available for a short while to celebrate the HBO Max special which stars Matthew alongside Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc.

‘Could I BE More ME? I’m releasing a new limited edition merchandise collection only available for three weeks. Get yours in the link in my bio so people will know just how ‘you’ you are. Only available at represent.com/mattherperry,’ read the caption to the post.

In the snap, Matthew is seated on a chair giving the camera a very Chandler Bing expression.

He is dressed in a white hoodie with the words ‘Could I BE More ME’ written across the front in the instantly recognizable Friends font.  

The hoodie retails for $44.99 and, along with other items, will be available for purchase for the next handful of weeks.

Other items include a baby onesie, T-shirts and sweatshirts with the phrase ‘Could I have had a longer day?’ and a topical shirt with the words ‘Could I be anymore vaccinated’.

Whomever penned the words missed a typo in the link to the online merchandise store. The correct link is represent.com/matthewperry.

Just yesterday, Friends fans expressed their concern for the actor after Perry appeared to slur his speech in a promo for the upcoming reunion special. 

Seated with his co-stars, the former sitcom star stammered and stared in the clip, even slurring together his words at one point.

When asked if he ever took anything from set as a souvenir, he admitted: ‘I stole the cookie jar that had the clock on it’ with a heavy ‘sh’ sound at the start of ‘stole.’

Though his speech was stilted, Matthew’s physical appearance was on the healthier side. 

His castmates were able to hide any of their concerns, as David and Matt giggled and smiled at the TV star, who played Chandler Bing on the NBC hit. But fans were quick to voice their worries.

‘Just saw People interview and can’t believe how Matthew Perry looks like… seriously it breaks my heart,’ one fan wrote on Twitter. 

‘It pains me to see Matthew Perry like this, he just seems off, gazing at the void, speaking slowly,’ wrote another.

‘Hate to say it, but I’m sad and scared like hell for Matthew Perry,’ a third added. ‘Damn, Matthew Perry in those PEOPLE Friends interviews.’ 

Perry has been open about his past struggles with addiction, previously telling People things got ‘out of control and very unhealthy’ after a 1997 jet-ski accident left him addicted to the painkiller Vicodin. Addiction left Matthew in a tough state, as he admitted to BBC Radio 2 in 2016.

‘I don’t remember three years of [the show],’ he said. ‘Somewhere between Seasons 3 and 6 … I was a little out of it.’ 

He told People in 2013: ‘I couldn’t stop. Eventually things got so bad that I couldn’t hide it, and then everybody knew.’

The actor, who checked himself into rehab during his time on Friends once in 1997 and again in 2001, told the Hollywood Reporter in 2015: ‘I’ve had a lot of ups and downs in my life. I learned a lot from my failures.

‘But the best thing about me is that if an alcoholic comes up to me and says, “Will you help me stop drinking?” I will say, “Yes, I know how to do that.”‘

Perry will join his Friends co-stars for the highly anticipated HBO Max reunion which finally airs next week after being delayed several times due to the pandemic. 

It’s quite the homecoming for the actors, which shot the special at Stage 24 at Warner Bros. Studios in LA, where the series shots it’s entire 10-season run. 

The opening scene was certainly familiar as Aniston joined Cox and LeBlanc on their old couch for an updated trivia game with Schwimmer, Kudrow and Perry.  

Recreating a memorable moment from the show, David’s character, Ross Geller, stood at the trivia board. 

‘Rachel wrote Ross a letter and demanded he read it before they got back together. How many pages was that letter?’ he asked the group.  

Matt, who played Joey Tribbiani, screamed ’18 pages’ only for Aniston to correct him: ‘front and back!’

Lisa Kudrow was overwhelmed upon walking onto set at the Warner Bros. lot as Matt enthusiastically said: ‘Here we go!’ Jennifer proved to be already emotional as she asked: ‘Where’s the tissue box?’  

‘Does Courteney still have her lines written on the table?’ Matt asked as he toured the old apartment set. 

‘We have such a bond from this show,’ Lisa explained while sitting on the iconic orange couch from the show’s intro. 

The event will be hosted by James Corden – much to the apparent dismay of Friends fans who expressed their ire over the Brit being chosen to moderate the conversation. 

‘The Friends reunion is not a musical. Yet James Corden’s in it. Why? And when will this man be stopped?’ one fan tweeted, while another said: ‘How did James Corden worm his way into the Friends reunion, does America know that he doesn’t have to be in everything?’ 

Friends ran for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004, and was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, who executive produced the series with Kevin Bright through Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television. 

It was reported in April that the reunion special was filmed over three days, with a live audience participating in the reunion.

A host of celebrities are set to join the cast in some capacity with guest stars including: Justin Bieber, Cindy Crawford, Lady Gaga and David Beckham.

Cara Delevingne, Tom Selleck, BTS, Kit Harington, Mindy Kaling and Malala Yousafzai are also slated to appear on the reunion.

The special is hosted by James Corden, a move that has not gone down well with fans, who questioned why the British comedian – who has no links to the series – was chosen. 

The Friends reunion will air on May 27 via HBO and HBO Max in the States. It has not yet been revealed how to watch the special in the UK.

Sky is reportedly the frontrunner to pick up the UK broadcasting rights, and if successful it should air on the network the following evening (May 28).