Matthew Perry’s Friends family has his back. Friends: The Reunion director Ben Winston recently spoke out against “unkind” comments about the actor.
Some viewers had taken to social media after the special’s release last week to share their concerns and questions about the status of Perry’s health.
“He was great. People can sometimes just be unkind. I wish they weren’t,” Winston said on The Hollywood Reporter’s TV’s Top 5 podcast on Friday. “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.”
Friends executive producer and director Kevin Bright also weighed in on the comments in a separate interview with THR.
“I talked to [Matthew]. It was great seeing him again,” he said. “And what people say is what people say. I don’t have any to say about that, except it was great to see him. And I think he’s very funny on the show. But yes, I think he’s OK. He seems stronger and better since the last time I saw him, and excited about going forward.”
Perry had opened up about his health battles in recent years, sharing in September 2018 that he had spent three months in a Los Angeles hospital following surgery to repair a gastrointestinal perforation.
He has also previously battled alcohol and Vicodin addiction.
The Friends reunion saw Perry come together with former co-stars Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox and David Schwimmer.
