RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Ross Mathews has recalled Friends stars Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc being rude to him on the red carpet.
In his new book Name Drop, Mathews writes about working the red carpet for NBC’s 75th anniversary party for The Tonight Show, in which he played Ross the Intern, in 2002.
As the Friends actors approached him, writes Mathews, he exclaimed: “It is so good to meet you! I’m Ross!”
To which a confused LeBlanc replied, “No you’re not, he’s over there,” motioning to David Schwimmer, who played Ross in Friends.
“‘Oh yeah, the other Ross,’ Mathews replied. “That didn’t go over well,” he writes. “Immediately the mood changed. Matthew Perry began staring into the camera blankly as Matt LeBlanc asked, ‘How did you get this gig?’”
When Mathews quipped, “I slept my way to the top,” Perry continued to stare towards the camera and LeBlanc pointed to Mathews and said: “Jay [Leno, The Tonight Show host], are you kidding? Are you kidding, Jay?’”
Mathews writes that 15 years later, he was on the red carpet covering the SAG Awards when LeBlanc apologised to him for the awkward interview, saying: “I don’t know if you even remember this, but years ago you interviewed me on a red carpet and I was really rude to you. It’s bugged me ever since and I’ve always wanted to apologise to you. It wasn’t cool of me to do that to you. I’m sorry.’”
Mathews notes that Perry has yet to apologise.
