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Matthew Perry papped looking 'unkempt' during coffee run, fans say 'let him live'

The 'Friends' star wore an oversize T-shirt, white basketball shorts, and Nike sneakers as he looked disheveled.

Fans rose to the defense of 'Friends' actor Matthew Perry after he was pictured by the paparazzi looking worse for the wear on a coffee run this week -emerging in the public eye months after fans were concerned about his well-being during the 'Friends' reunion.

The 52-year-old actor was photographed walking out of a Starbucks in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles with a pal on Saturday, September 25. However, the pictures were published days later. The star wore an oversize T-shirt, white basketball shorts, and Nike sneakers as he looked disheveled. As he was headed for the parking lot holding a Frappuccino in one hand and his phone in the other, he looked seemingly unaware of the photographers. After entering his car, Perry puffed on a cigarette.

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The photos were originally published by the New York Post, in an article titled 'Unkempt Matthew Perry wears baggy shorts, T-shirt on coffee run.' Fans of the actor took issue with how the actor was portrayed by the publication and after the pictures found themselves on Twitter. 

'Do we really need to see him looking at his worst?'

"That’s like everyone running out for coffee. Leave @MatthewPerry alone. Ridiculous let him get his coffee after rolling out of bed like everyone else!!!,” one person wrote, while another added, “I don’t understand. Is he hurting someone? Seems like he’s just existing. He’s allowed to do that.” A third stated, "You should see how bad I look before I get my morning coffee!" The next wrote, "Do we really need to see him looking at his worst? The guy has admitted he’s had issues… maybe you could just leave him alone?" Another commented, "I need a picture of the person who posted this." One more added, "Is he no getting up there in years? Who cares man." A commenter tweeted, "Well I'm sure all of the employees of the new york post wear ball gowns and tuxedos 24/7..... let that man live his life in peace, he's not bothering you."

A person reacted with, "Yes! Why do this to someone? It’s cruel and evil. My god, if some1 took a picture of me looking my worst & showed it even 2 people, I’d probably kill myself. But bc this guy used to be famous, it’s ok to publicly humiliate him for the sole purpose of being cruel?? There’s no purpose for him even being in the press. This was done to humiliate someone in front of the world. They didn’t even care if was MP or not. My god, what happened to humanity? How is there a human being who thought this was anything other than torturing someone?" One more stated, "Imagine being photographed every 10 minutes on a coffee run and they pick the worst photos they took to publish. That’s the scum media for you." Another remarked, "Who doesn't look like during the off-seasons!?! Let him live."

Matthew Perry's struggle with addiction

The 'Serving Sara' star has long been open about his struggle with addiction, which landed him in rehab in 1997, 2001 and 2011, telling BBC Radio 2 in 2016 that he “[doesn’t] remember three years” of “Friends,” “somewhere between Season 3 and 6.” A source confirmed in May, “Matthew has told those around him that he is sober, and there is no need to worry.”

Earlier this year, Perry sparked concerns over his health after the actor slurred his speech during a 'Friends' reunion promo. In May, 'Friends: The Reunion' director Ben Winston called out some of the “unkind” comments directed at Perry. “People can sometimes just be unkind. I wish they weren’t,” he said, adding of Perry, “I loved working with him.”