In their iconic theme song from Friends, The Rembrandts famously sing “I’ll be there for you/ Like I’ve been there before.” But on Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, Matthew Perry (the onetime Chandler Bing) revealed that he may not have been there for an unlikely onetime rival: current Canadian Prime Minister/internet cult hero Justin Trudeau.
Perry and Trudeau went to the same grade school in Ottawa, Ontario. During a sit-down interview, Perry touched jokingly on how when he was in the 5th grade and Trudeau was slightly younger, he and a friend actually went after the younger politician-to-be: “We both beat him up.”
“I think he was excelling in a sport that we weren’t, so it was pure jealousy,” Perry explained. “He was the only kid in the school that we could beat up.”
Clearly, it’s not a point of pride for the actor, but it’s nevertheless an oddly funny reminder that even the most respected figures come from humble beginnings, whether bully or target.
Perry then joked to Kimmel that “I think he said ‘I’m gonna rise above this, and I’m gonna become the prime minister,” as surely the incident helped shape Trudeau into the freedom-fighting bastion of sanity he is today. Perry can currently be seen on CBS’ The Odd Couple, and perhaps in Trudeau’s nightmares.
