Matthew Perry lost a part of his digits during an unfortunate accident during his childhood, and he had been portraying Chandler Bing for a decade without it ever being addressed in the show!
But the writers did spin this into a cheeky little reference by making Chandler lose his toe instead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE3Nmn4sBkA
In the fifth season of the hit American sitcom titled “The One With All The Thanksgivings”, there is a flashback montage that dates back to 1988 in which Monica was scheming to humiliate Chandler for making fun of her weight the year before.
In an act of revenge gone wrong in the kitchen, she somehow accidentally drops a knife and it lands directly on Chandler’s foot, severing his toe.
Chandler finds that he cannot have his severed toe reattached to him because Monica…well, in her haste, accidentally brought a baby carrot to the hospital instead.
Perry hasn’t openly spoken about his missing fingertip but has shown it to the cameras before. He also made a joke about his fingers in June 2019 amid claims he was looking dishevelled during a rare outing in New York City.
I’m getting a manicure this morning. That’s okay right? I mean it says man right in the word.
— matthew perry (@MatthewPerry) June 21, 2019
However, the actor has opened up on his struggles with addictions since the conclusion of the show, admitting that he was a “sick guy”. His personal life was a far cry in comparison to his character as he was battling various personal demons off-camera.
“I think I was pretty good at hiding it but, you know, eventually people were aware,” he said.
During the promo for the Friends reunion, people noticed the slur in the actor’s speech but Perry shot it down as being the result of an emergency dental work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRXVQ77ehRQ
We want Perry to know that he has our support no matter what!
*Cover image originally via Warner Bros. Television