Heartbreaking photo of Matthew Perry’s Friends co-star Matt LeBlanc staring at Chandler Bing’s empty chair goes viral in the wake of late actor’s shock death – with fans hailing it as the ‘perfect tribute’

• The Friends star passed away age 54 on Saturday after downing in his jacuzzi 
• A photo showing Matt in Friends looking at an empty chair is circulating
• The photo struck a chord with Friends fans, mourning the beloved actor’s death

An image of Matthew Perry’s Friends co-star Matt LeBlanc sitting next to an empty lounge chair left vacant by the late actor’s character Chandler Bing has gone viral in the wake of the 54-year-old’s shock death.

The photo was taken from the hugely popular 90s sitcom, which ran from 1994 to 2004 starring Perry as the sarcastic Chandler, while Matt played his on-air best friend Joey Tribbiani. 

X user @notmanoj_ posted the picture to the platform on Sunday, simply accompanying the image with a sad face.

The image shows Joey looking forlornly at the empty reclining sofa chair. The still is from a season two episode where Joey decides to moves out of their shared apartment, after earning a substantial amount of money from an acting job.

Thousands of people reposted the image, expressing their shock over the actor’s sudden death.

An image of Matthew Perry’s co-star Matt LeBlanc staring next to a chair left vacant 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 hit 90s series Friends – passed away on Saturday at his home in California

Chandler’s ‘bromance’ with roommate Joey was hugely popular among fans

The picture poignant picture struck a chord with mourners, who flooded the post with comments commiserating the beloved actor’s sudden death.

‘Easily one of the most devastating celebrity deaths,’ a user declared. 

‘Why did u have to do this ohmygod,’ said another.

‘Well done. A perfect tribute,’ commented another. 

One Chandler Bing fan account chimed in: ‘Monday mood: Joey Tribbiani,’ while re-sharing the photo on Twitter. 

‘What Joey felt… the whole world is feeling now,’ another user wrote. 

Quoting one of Joey’s lines from the show, one user wrote: ‘”It’s gonna be weird when I come home and you’re not here” – Joey Tribbiani. 

‘Rest easy, Matthew Perry.’ 

Perry, who shot to fame as the sarcastic Chandler Bing in the seminal 90s sitcom, was found dead from an apparent drowning at his house in Los Angeles on Saturday after emergency crews 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 said to be found unresponsive in his hot tub. 

The actor starred in the smash-hit Friends, which followed the lives of six friends in their 20s living in New York.

Perry won a worldwide fanbase for his role as Chandler, earning him an Emmy nomination in 2002 – but behind the glitz and glamour, he secretly battled substance abuse for decades.

In his last post to his Instagram, posted earlier this week, Perry shared photos from his pool. He reportedly died by drowning at his home but an official cause of death has not been revealed

There was reportedly no sign of foul play, and that robbery-homicide detectives are investigating his death after he was allegedly found in his hot tub (pictured)

Fans of Perry’s flooded the poignant pictures mourning the beloved actor’s death

Despite hiding his demons from public view for years, Perry detailed his struggles in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing. 

There was no indication of foul play and no drugs were found at the scene of his death, sources said this morning.

Perry was open about his past addiction, revealing in a 2016 interview that he did not remember filming three seasons of the show because he was a ‘little out of it at the time’.

At one point during his time on Friends, Perry admitted he was taking 55 Vicodin painkillers a day and was down to 128lb – just over 9st – in weight.

Perry also revealed that his colon ruptured as a result of his opioid addiction when he was 49.

Doctors gave him only a two percent chance of survival and he was in a coma for two weeks followed by months more in the hospital.

Perry required 14 surgeries to help repair all of the abdominal damage, and he admitted to having gone to rehab 15 times over the years in hopes of kicking his drug addiction.

In his last post to his Instagram, shared earlier this week, the star shared images of him in his pool, saying: ‘Oh, so warm water swirling around 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 pictures of Perry stepping out with his friend for dinner hamburger joint Apple Pan in Los Angeles

Friends was a huge global hit as it ran for 10 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 glad of that, happy I’ve done some solid work as an actor, as well as given people multiple chances to make fun of my struggles on the world wide web.

‘But when I die, as far as my so-called accomplishments go, it would be nice if Friends were listed far behind the things I did to try to help other people.

‘I know it won’t happen but it would be nice.’

The actor reiterated this in a November 2022 appearance on the podcast Q with Tom Power at Toronto’s Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, he said that the ‘paramount thing’ he would want to be remembered for ‘is that he wants to help people’ battling addiction.

‘The best thing about me, bar none, is that if an alcoholic or drug addict comes up to me and says, “Will you help me?”‘ he said. ‘I can say yes and follow up and do it.

‘When I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned. I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned, and I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that.’

Matthew said that it was difficult for him to watch past episodes of Friends, as he could chart his addiction battle by his appearance on the program.

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