London:
Matthew Perry wasn't on board about his fan favourite "Friends" character Chandler hitting a gay bar, a recently released book says. In "Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era", writer Saul Austerlitz recalls the moment Perry was pitched the storyline, reported Digital Spy. According to the author, the episode would have seen Chandler sneak into a gay bar because he loved the chef's tuna melts.
"Perry said no, and the story was shelved," Austerlitz wrote.
There were other episodes that never made it to the hit NBC sitcom, including the one which would have seen Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) move in with Gunther (James Michael Tyler) and one which would have seen Chandler apprehended by airport security for making a joke about a sign telling people not make jokes about hijacking or bombs on an aircraft.
The latter was dropped in the wake of the 9/11 terror attack.
"Friends", which is considered a cultural phenomenon, has faced retrospective criticism by viewers who notice that many of the show's jokes were homophobic in nature, including Chandler and Joey (Matt LeBlanc) repeatedly mistaken for a gay couple and Chandler frequently portrayed as being paranoid about being thought of as gay.
