Conan O’Brien Recalls Feeling ‘Jealous’ After Ex Lisa Kudrow Praised Friends Costar Matthew Perry

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In a candid revelation on his podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” comedian Conan O’Brien opened up about feeling jealous after his ex-girlfriend Lisa Kudrow praised her Friends co-star, the late Matthew Perry.

During the latest episode, O’Brien shared that he experienced envy when Kudrow, whom he dated from 1988 until 1993, called him to rave about Perry’s comedic talents. “You started doing that show and you called me up, and you were raving about Matthew and you were saying, ‘He’s so funny,’ and there was part of me that was jealous,” O’Brien admitted to Kudrow. “I was like, ‘Okay, I make you laugh pretty hard.’ And you were like, ‘No, you don’t understand. This guy’s really [funny].'”

O’Brien described his jealousy as a natural reaction but admitted his feelings changed after watching Perry in action. “My entire spirit was green with envy until I saw Perry on the show and realized she was right. There was part of me that was jealous, and then I was watching him and going, ‘Yep.'”

Kudrow, while acknowledging Perry’s immense talent, reassured O’Brien of his own comedic prowess. “You are also one of the funniest people I know,” she told him, though O’Brien quickly downplayed the compliment. Kudrow playfully retorted, “Well, now it’s hard to hear, you see. But it is true. That’s just a fact. But [Perry] was such a huge star.”

Reflecting on Perry’s passing last October at the age of 54 due to the acute effects of ketamine, Kudrow shared that she has started rewatching old episodes of Friends to remember him. “I used to not be able to watch it at all,” Kudrow said. “I’d see it on and be mildly interested, and then I’d see me and say, ‘That’s enough of that. I can’t bear it.’ After Matthew died, I could start watching the show again because it wasn’t about me. It had to do with him for some reason.”

While Kudrow isn’t watching Friends from the beginning, she does catch episodes during marathons. “There are marathons on, and I have spent, at times, since he died all day long watching the show,” she added. “Everyone is phenomenally hilarious to me.”