Matthew Perry played a major role in making the script of the hit comedy sitcom Friends less controversial by providing his input.
In an interview with TMZ, Lisa Cash, who had a brief cameo in season 5 of the show, revealed that Perry’s character, Chandler Bing, was initially supposed to cheat on his on-screen lover, Monica Geller, portrayed by Courteney Cox.
She explained to the publication that in the episode “The One in Vegas: Part 1,” the writers had originally scripted that Chandler would cheat on Monica after they had a fight over her having lunch with her ex, Richard Burke, played by Tom Selleck.
Cash shared, “The scene was supposed to depict Chandler and Monica arguing in Vegas about Monica having lunch with Richard, and initially, in our script, Chandler goes up to the hotel room, orders room service, and I bring it up as a hotel worker.”
“We end up talking, laughing, connecting, and Chandler ends up cheating on Monica with my character,” she added.
Cash revealed she rehearsed the scene with Perry but was later told that he had convinced the writers to change the scene, stating, “The audience would never forgive him for cheating on Monica.”
She commended Perry for this decision, saying, “I think it was a good move because they had that whole other thing with Ross and Rachel and ‘we were on a break,’ but Chandler and Monica weren’t on a break.”
She further praised Perry for making her feel at ease during their rehearsals, stating, “It was so neat to work with him because I was new to the industry, and it could have been really intimidating for me. But I just felt so comfortable. He was really likable and welcoming and made me feel at ease.”
Cash’s scenes with Perry were later canceled, and she instead got a role as a flight attendant working with Ross Geller and Rachel Green, played by David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston, respectively.