The Friends reunion brought on some not-so-nice chatter about Matthew Perry, and director Ben Winston has zero time for it.
Ben, who pitched the idea for the reunion that premiered last week, spoke candidly with The Hollywood Reporter’s podcast TV’s Top 5 about the response to Matthew’s appearance on the special.
While the actor who played Chandler Bing has long been open about his struggles with substance abuse and time spent in rehab over the years, many questioned whether Matthew was okay after the reunion as he rarely spoke during it.
However, Ben assured The Hollywood Reporter that Perry was “great”.
“People can sometimes just be unkind. I wish they weren’t,” he said. “I loved working with him. He’s a brilliantly funny man and I thought he had some great one-liners in the show.
“I felt just happy and lucky to be in his presence and directing him on something like this.”
Echoing those sentiments, Friends producer Kevin Bright told The Hollywood Reporter in a separate interview that it “was great seeing” Matthew and “what people say is what people say.”
“I think he’s OK. He seems stronger and better since the last time I saw him, and excited about going forward,” he shared.
Representatives for Matthew did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Ben, who pitched the idea for the reunion that premiered last week, spoke candidly with The Hollywood Reporter’s podcast TV’s Top 5 about the response to Matthew’s appearance on the special.
While the actor who played Chandler Bing has long been open about his struggles with substance abuse and time spent in rehab over the years, many questioned whether Matthew was okay after the reunion as he rarely spoke during it.
However, Ben assured The Hollywood Reporter that Perry was “great”.
“People can sometimes just be unkind. I wish they weren’t,” he said. “I loved working with him. He’s a brilliantly funny man and I thought he had some great one-liners in the show.
“I felt just happy and lucky to be in his presence and directing him on something like this.”
Echoing those sentiments, Friends producer Kevin Bright told The Hollywood Reporter in a separate interview that it “was great seeing” Matthew and “what people say is what people say.”
“I think he’s OK. He seems stronger and better since the last time I saw him, and excited about going forward,” he shared.
Representatives for Matthew did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
