Friends: Matthew Perry said ‘no’ to storyline about Chandler sneaking into gay bar

Sitcom included a number of problematic storylines that featured gags about characters being perceived as gay

Matthew Perry reportedly ruled out filming a storyline that involved his character Chandler Bing sneaking into a gay bar because he loves the tuna melts it serves.

The actor starred in the hit sitcom from its first episode in 1994 until the final season aired 10 years later.

In a new book, Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show that Defined a Television Era, writer Saul Austerlitz recalls the moment Perry was pitched the storyline.

“Perry said no, and the story was shelved,” he writes.

Click through the gallery to see the Friends characters ranked

Friends has faced retrospective criticism by viewers who notice that many of the jokes in the show were homophobic in nature.

Chandler and Joey were repeatedly mistaken for a gay couple, male characters were mocked for perceived “feminine” behaviour, Ross is unable to handle the idea of having a male nanny, and Chandler was frequently portrayed as being paranoid about being thought of as gay.

See our definitive ranking of every Friends episode here.