TV Legends: Was Chandler on Friends Origally Meant To Be Gay?

friends chandler bing gay

Throughout the years, Friends fans have speculated Chandler Bg was origally gay. Even Lisa Kudrow thought so. So was he?

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HERE'S WHY SOME 'FRIENDS' FANS THK CHANDLER WAS ORIGALLY MEANT TO BE GAY

If Chandler had been gay, would the show have been funnier? Would that have let them tell better stori? * friends chandler bing gay *

Seattle-based journalist Matt Bme, however, believ the show uld have end very differently if the creative team’s origal plans for Chandler, played by Matthew Perry, had been a new vio report, Bme ― who is the thor of the 2015 book “Defg Marriage” and the host of “Culture Cise, ” an acclaimed YouTube seri ― lv to thly sourced but persistent reports that the creators of “Friends” had tend for Chandler to be a gay man, but changed him to a straight character after Perry was st.

He also breaks down a number of gay jok ― many of them crgeworthy by morn standards ― prented the show at the character’s expense as evince of a funct plot le. “No, Chandler isn’t gay, ” he said at the time.

“Nor will he be gay.

GAY-UNIENDLY MATTHEW PERRY REFED A ‘FRIENDS’ STORYLE WHICH HAD CHANDLER SNEAKG TO A GAY BAR, ACRDG TO NEW BOOK

In the latt TV Legends Revealed, learn whether Chandler was nceived of as gay until Matthew Perry was st and the character was re-wrten. * friends chandler bing gay *

And Perry’s -star Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe Buffay, gave crence to that theory a 2014 terview wh the Televisn Amy suggtg that she, too, believed the character was gay at that Chandler posss what he believ is “a gay sensibily, but no gay storyl, ” Bme told HuffPost, “If they had ma fully gay ― wrten gay, played gay ― would that have been a good thg or a bad thg? ”“On one hand, would have been amazg to see a gay ma character on one of the most popular shows TV history, ” he ntued. They’d often repeat the same simple joke, that would be funny if a person was gay....

[The show] seemed to be at s bt when tellg heterosexual stori, and I’m not sure they uld have pulled off the challenge of featurg TV’s most proment gay ma character.

WAS CHANDLER OM “FRIENDS” MEANT TO BE GAY? IT SEEMS HE ALMOST WAS.

A longstandg urban legend is that Chandler was origally supposed to be gay  Friends until Matthew Perry was st the role. * friends chandler bing gay *

I’ll be there for you — jt as long as you’re not at a gay bar. A new book lookg at the behd-the-scen of one of televisn’s most popular ss is sheddg some light on how one of s stars felt about a slightly gay “Generatn Friends: An Insi Look at the Show That Defed a Televisn Era, ” noted pop culture historian and cric Sl Aterlz retells some of the stori lived by the st and crew of NBC’s mt-see-TV the book, which cis wh the 25th anniversary of the show’s premiere, Aterlz ed exclive terviews wh the show’s creators David Crane and Marta Kffman, executive producer Kev Bright, director Jam Burrows, as well as wrers and st one such acunt, Aterlz scrib a would-be scene om an episo that might as well have been lled “The One Wh Matthew Perry Givg the Gays Some Real Sha.

”Acrdg to Aterlz, wrers of the show had thought of a storyle for Perry, who played the wisecrackg Chandler Bg, where he sneaked to a gay bar bee he liked the tuna melt that served. -based LGBTQ news se Gay Tim that the show hasn’t “aged well” when to LGBTQ a lbian romance, which is praised for beg one of the first same-sex uple portrayed on prime-time televisn, has been sctized by some the LGBTQ romantic same-sex relatnship between two supportg characters, Carol and San, was “nstcted primarily to make Ross — Carol’s ex-hband, played by David Schwimmer — unfortable and emasculated by appearg to tmp his agile masculy, ” Samantha Riel, an opn wrer who foc on transgenr issu, wrote for the LGBTQ se them. How close did the people behd the h show Friends e to makg Chandler gay?

Chandler uld have had the most proment gay character televisn history… until the show’s creators cid to straighten him out. It was about six twenty-somethg Gen-Xers livg, lghg, and lovg implsibly large Manhattan apartments, and was a lot ls shy than other shows of the time about dog gay episos. He’s smart, he’s funny, he’s sarstic, he’s unlucky love, he’s well drsed — and he was believed to be totally gay, both by characters on the show and by people real life.

TV LEGENDS: WAS CHANDLER ON FRIENDS ORIGALLY MEANT TO BE GAY?

Charl Bg, profsnally known as Helena Handbasket, is the blogil father of Chandler Bg, portrayed by an unknown actor and by a woman named Kathleen Turner. After g out as gay or transgenr, Charl divorced Chandler's mother Nora Tyler Bg, and works as a drag artist Las... * friends chandler bing gay *

Chandler go to his iends and asks if they ever thought he was gay, and learns that they all thought he was. And they’re not alone, bee when this episo aired, a lot of viewers thought he was gay as well.

In the early velopment of Friends, creators Marta Kffman and David Crane “entertaed the possibily that Chandler uld be gay, ” acrdg to terviews published back the 1990s. If they’d gone wh a gay actor, he said, they might’ve stuck to the gay plan.

Instead of havg the character be gay, they cid stead to have everyone jt thk he’s gay. Wrers were told to “wre gay and play straight. Viewers may have been primed to notice gay characters the mid-90s bee they were creasgly visible on the news and talk shows.

MATTHEW PERRY REPORTEDLY REFED TO DO A FRIENDS SCENE VOLVG A GAY BAR

Acrdg to a behd-the-scen book, Matthew Perry reportedly refed to do a Friends scene volvg Chandler a gay bar. * friends chandler bing gay *

There are tons of articl om the show’s origal n perd about how gay Chandler seems — so many terviews where they have to very patiently expla, no, he’s not gay, really. The show loved droppg ltle gay hts about Chandler. In that season 1 episo, after his iends all tell him that he has a gay “qualy, ” Chandler fds his worker so he n make sure she knows he’s not gay.

It’s another example of wrg gay, playg straight.

WAS CHANDLER BG ORIGALLY GAY ON FRIENDS? EVEN LISA KUDROW THOUGHT SO

* friends chandler bing gay *

But if Chandler had been gay — wrten gay, played gay — would the show have been funnier?

HOW MATTHEW PERRY KILLED A GAY STORY FOR HIS CHARACTER ‘FRIENDS’

Ross terpts Chandler’s flirtg and tell him he should be gay. It’s sentially that Chandler’s gay, which was also the punchle the first scene wh his worker, and the scene wh his iends, and the other scene wh his worker.

That joke — ’s jt funny for someone to be was gay — seems to be the only gay joke Friends wants to tell. Homosexualy n be funny! For example, Stt Thompson on Kids the Hall, and gay ic Bob Smh.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* FRIENDS CHANDLER BING GAY

Was Chandler om "Friends" meant to be gay? It seems he almost was. - LGBTQ Natn .

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