An image of Matthew Perry’s Friends co-star Matt LeBlanc sitting next to an empty armchair left empty by the late actor’s character Chandler Bing has gone viral in the wake of the 54-year-old’s shock death.
The photo is from the hugely popular ’90s sitcom, which ran from 1994 to 2004 and starred Perry as the sarcastic Chandler, while Matt played his best friend Joey Tribbiani.
X user @notmanoj_ posted the photo to the platform on Sunday and simply accompanied the image with a sad face.
The image shows Joey looking desperately at the empty recliner. The still is from a season two episode where Joey decides to move out of their shared apartment after making a significant amount of money through acting.
Thousands of people reposted the image and expressed their shock over the actor’s sudden death.
An image of Matthew Perry’s co-star Matt LeBlanc staring next to a chair left empty by the late actor’s character Chandler Bing has gone viral in the wake of the 54-year-old’s shock death
Perry – who was famous for playing Chandler in the hit ’90s series Friends – died on Saturday at his home in California
Chandler’s ‘bromance’ with roommate Joey was extremely popular among fans
The poignant photo struck a chord with mourners, who flooded the post with comments commiserating over the sudden death of the beloved actor.
“Easily one of the most devastating celebrity deaths,” one user declared.
“Why did you have to do this, oh my god,” said another.
‘Well done. A perfect tribute,” said another.
One Chandler Bing fan account read, “Monday mood: Joey Tribbiani,” as he reshared the photo on Twitter.
“What Joey felt… the whole world is feeling right now,” another user wrote.
Quoting one of Joey’s lines from the show, one user wrote: ‘”It’ll be weird when I get home and you’re not there” – Joey Tribbiani.
“Calm down, Matthew Perry.”
Perry, who rose to fame as the sarcastic Chandler Bing in the groundbreaking ’90s sitcom, was found dead of an apparent drowning at his Los Angeles home on Saturday after emergency services were called at around 4pm local time.
He had reportedly played a two-hour game of Pickleball – a sport similar to tennis but played on a smaller court – earlier in the day before sending his assistant out on an errand. When they returned, Perry was found lifeless in his hot tub.
The actor starred in the hit Friends, which followed the lives of six friends in their 20s living in New York.
Perry won a global fan base for his role as Chandler, which earned him an Emmy nomination in 2002, but behind the glitz and glamor he secretly battled substance abuse for decades.
In his latest Instagram post, posted earlier this week, Perry shared photos of his pool. He reportedly died by drowning in his home, but an official cause of death has not been revealed
There was reportedly no sign of foul play, and robbery-homicide detectives are investigating his death after he was reportedly found in his hot tub (pictured)
Perry fans flooded the poignant photos mourning the beloved actor’s death
Despite hiding his demons from the public for years, Perry detailed his struggles in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing.
There was no evidence of foul play and no drugs were found at the scene of his death, sources said this morning.
Perry has been open about his past addiction, revealing in a 2016 interview that he didn’t remember filming three seasons of the show because he was “kind of out of it at the time.”
At one point during his time on Friends, Perry admitted that he was taking 55 Vicodin painkillers a day and weighed just 128 pounds (just over 9).
Perry also revealed that his colon ruptured as a result of his opioid addiction when he was 49.
The doctors gave him only a two percent chance of survival and he was in a coma for two weeks, followed by another month in the hospital.
Perry required fourteen surgeries to repair all the abdominal damage, and he admitted to going to rehab fifteen times over the years in hopes of kicking his drug addiction.
In his latest post to his Instagram, shared earlier this week, the star shared images of him in his pool and said: ‘Oh, so the warm water swirling makes you feel good? I’m Mattman.’
Last year he published a memoir titled ‘Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir’
One of the last photos of Perry stepping out with his friend for dinner at Los Angeles burger joint Apple Pan
Friends was a huge worldwide hit, as the series lasted ten seasons between 1994 and 2004
In his memoir, Perry spoke briefly about how he would like to be remembered after his death.
“When I die, I know people will talk about friends, friends, friends,” he wrote.
“And I’m happy about that, happy that I’ve done a good job as an actor, and that I’ve given people multiple opportunities to make fun of my struggles on the World Wide Web.
“But when I die, as far as my so-called achievements go, it would be nice if Friends would stand far behind the things I did to help other people.
“I know it won’t happen, but it would be nice.”
The actor reiterated this during a November 2022 appearance on the podcast Q with Tom Power at Toronto’s Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, he said the “most important thing” he would like to be remembered for “is wanting to help people in their fight against addiction.”
“The best thing about me, bar none, is when an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says, ‘Will you help me?'” he said. “I can say yes and follow through and do it.
“When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing mentioned. I want this to be the first thing that comes up, and I’m going to have to spend the rest of my life proving that.”
Matthew said it was difficult for him to watch previous episodes of Friends as he was able to chart his addiction struggles through his appearance on the programme.