With the Friends reunion only a few days away, Matthew Perry has stirred up reactions with his latest round of merch. One shirt in particular contains a sly reference to his Chandler Bing catchphrase that promotes the COVID vaccines, and folks are having mixed feelings about the actor making money off anything pandemic-related, especially after landing a multi-million dollar payday from HBO Max for the Friends special.
In the tweet, Perry writes, “Could I BE Any More Vaccinated? Get your shot and then get your shirt,” before directing fans to his official webstore for Matthew Perry merchandise.
Could I BE Any More Vaccinated? Get your shot and then get your shirt. Shop the entire collection at https://t.co/WzJDsPVqFX Only available for a limited time pic.twitter.com/M2G8hbNV23
— matthew perry (@MatthewPerry) May 24, 2021
While the “Could I BE Any More Vaccinated” T-shirt does encourage people to get the COVID shot, the listing has no language about a portion of the profits going to any sort of charity, which led to some angry reactions on social media. On Instagram, where he also promoted the T-shirt, Perry was told, “I love you but this tshirt is not it haha,” while others dinged Perry for the profit-grabbing move.
https://twitter.com/spinaltapEleven/status/1396907091156213763
Why would I give a multi millionaire even more money?
— Nick (@_NickCrowder_) May 24, 2021
However, Perry has received an overwhelming number of positive responses from Friends fans around the globe saying they love the shirt, and (more specifically) him.
Could I BE anymore in love with you?
Don't let the haters get you down! pic.twitter.com/le7ewDOsn6
— Sassy Winter Fox (@SassyWinterFox) May 25, 2021
People asking Perry to not get profited from the pandemic, I have a question for you. Who is forcing you to buy anything? Just don't.
I think a few bucks from Tshirt sales wouldn't matter to @MatthewPerry but it would mean a lot to people genuinely interested.
Big fan, Perry.
— Vinay (@nevermindmesyng) May 25, 2021
Naturally, Perry also received flak for promoting the COVID shot from anti-vaxxers who accused him, and all celebrities, of being “propaganda machines for life.” These reactions were predominantly contained to his Instagram replies, where Perry was hit with the usual misinformation from conservatives and vaccine skeptics who refuse to get the shot and are holding back herd immunity levels. It’s safe to say they weren’t swayed by the Chandler-themed merch.
(Via Matthew Perry on Twitter)