Heartbreaking photo of Matthew Perry’s Friends co-star Matt LeBlanc staring at Chandler Bing’s empty chair goes viral after the late actor’s shocking death – and fans are hailing it as a ‘perfect tribute’

A picture 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, went viral following the 54-year-old’s shocking death.

The photo is from the hugely popular ’90s sitcom that ran from 1994 to 2004 and starred Perry as the sarcastic Chandler while Matt played his on-air best friend Joey Tribbiani.

X user @notmanoj_ posted the picture on the platform on Sunday and only attached a sad face to the picture.

The picture shows Joey looking forlornly at the empty sofa chair. The still is from a season two episode in which Joey decides to move out of their shared apartment after earning a significant amount of money from an acting job.

Thousands of people reposted the picture, expressing their shock at the actor’s sudden death.

A picture of Matthew Perry’s co-star Matt LeBlanc staring next to a chair vacated by the late actor’s character, Chandler Bing, went viral following the 54-year-old’s shocking death

Perry – who rose to fame for his role as Chandler on the hit ’90s series “Friends” – died on Saturday at his home in California

Chandler’s “bromance” with his roommate Joey was hugely popular with fans

The poignant image was well received by mourners, who flooded the post with comments regretting the sudden death of the beloved actor.

“Easily one of the most devastating celebrity deaths,” one user declared.

“Why did you have to do that oh my god,” said another.

‘Well done. “A perfect tribute,” commented another.

A Chandler Bing fan account chimed in: “Monday mood: Joey Tribbiani,” while resharing the photo on Twitter.

“What Joey felt…now the whole world feels,” another user wrote.

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

“Rest easy, Matthew Perry.”

Perry, who rose to fame as the sarcastic Chandler Bing on the groundbreaking ’90s sitcom, was found dead of an apparent drowning in his Los Angeles home on Saturday after rescue workers were called around 4pm local time.

Earlier in the day, he had reportedly played a two-hour game of pickleball – a sport similar to tennis but played on a smaller court – before sending his assistant off on an errand. When they returned, Perry was reportedly found lifeless in his hot tub.

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

Perry gained a global fan base for his role as Chandler and received an Emmy nomination in 2002 – but behind the glitz and glamour, he secretly battled substance abuse for decades.

In his latest post on Instagram, which he shared 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 announced

There were reportedly no signs of crime and Robbery and Homicide detectives are investigating his death after he was allegedly found in his hot tub (pictured).

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

Although Perry hid his demons from the public for years, he detailed his struggles in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing.

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

Perry has been open about his past addiction, revealing in a 2016 interview that he doesn’t remember filming three seasons of the series because he was “a little out of it at the time.”

At some point during his time on Friends, Perry admitted that he was taking 55 Vicodin painkillers a day and had reduced his weight to 128 pounds (just over the ninth).

Perry also revealed that his colon ruptured at age 49 as a result of his opioid addiction.

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 repair all abdominal damage, and he admitted to going to rehab 15 times over the years in hopes of kicking his drug addiction.

In his latest post on Instagram, which he shared earlier this week, the star shared pictures of himself in his pool with the words: “Oh, that makes you feel so good with warm water swirling around? I’m Mattman.”

Last year he published his memoirs titled “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing: A Memoir.”

One of the last pictures of Perry going to dinner with his friend at the Apple Pan burger joint in Los Angeles

“Friends” was a huge worldwide success, running for ten 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 be talking about friends, friends, friends,” he wrote.

“And I’m happy about that, glad that I did a solid job as an actor and gave people the opportunity to make fun of my problems on the World Wide Web several times.”

“But when I die, as far as my so-called achievements go, it would be nice if friends were listed far behind the things I’ve done to help other people.”

“I know it won’t happen, but it would be nice.”

The actor confirmed this during an appearance on the podcast in November 2022 Question with Tom Power At the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema in Toronto, he said that “the most important thing” he wants to be remembered for is “helping people” struggling with addiction.

“The best thing for me is when 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 mentioned. I want that to be the first thing mentioned, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving that.”

Matthew said that it was difficult for him to watch previous episodes of Friends because he could trace his struggle with addiction through his appearance on the show.