--- description: Matthew Perry told Jimmy Kimmel that he and his friend Chris beat up Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the fifth grade. title: Matthew Perry Beat Up Justin Trudeau in the Fifth Grade image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6746239d44f53639/69887a7c524fc08455df66f3/matthew-perry-substance-abuse-friends.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Matthew Perry Confesses to Beating Up Justin Trudeau in the Fifth Grade by [Nick Romano / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Nick Romano / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 16, 2017 7:19 PM CUT  Matthew Perry attends Venice Family Clinic's 33rd Annual Silver Circle Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on March 9, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. Matthew Perry attends Venice Family Clinic's 33rd Annual Silver Circle Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on March 9, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.Jason Kempin/Getty Images by [Nick Romano / Entertainment Weekly](/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Nick Romano / Entertainment Weekly Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 16, 2017 7:19 PM CUT [Matthew Perry](http://ew.com/article/2016/01/25/friends-matthew-perry-substance-abuse/ "undefined") has a story about Canadian Prime Minister [Justin Trudeau](http://ew.com/article/2016/12/16/justin-trudeau-obama-white-house-holiday-card/ "undefined") that he’s not particularly proud of: “My friend Chris Murray, who was also in the fifth grade in Canada, reminded me that we actually beat up Justin Trudeau,” he confessed on _Jimmy Kimmel Live_ Wednesday. Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, was serving as prime minister at the time, but Perry doesn’t think that was the reason they picked on their schoolmate. “I think he was excelling in a sport that we weren’t as \[good at\],” CBS’ _Odd Couple_ star said. “So, it was pure jealousy.” He added, “I think he was the only kid in school we _could_ beat up.” Perry clarified his remarks: “I’m not bragging about this. This is terrible, I was a stupid kid. I didn’t want to beat him up. In fact, I think at one point I tried to turn it into love play,” he said, acknowledging Trudeau’s striking good looks. “But I think it was rather instrumental in him going to such great heights and becoming prime minister,” the former [_Friends_](https://www.amazon.com/Friends-Complete-Blu-ray-Jennifer-Aniston/dp/B008D19WBQ/ref=sr%5F1%5F1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488509949&sr=8-1&keywords=friends+box+set+blu-ray "undefined") actor said. “Yeah, I think he said, ‘I’m gonna rise above this, and I’m gonna become prime minister.’” Watch Perry on _Kimmel_ in the clip above. _This_ [_article_](http://ew.com/tv/2017/03/16/matthew-perry-justin-trudeau-jimmy-kimmel/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_[ _EW.com_](http://www.ew.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4704333/matthew-perry-justin-trudeau-fifth-grade-bullying/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4704333/matthew-perry-justin-trudeau-fifth-grade-bullying/"},"headline":"Matthew Perry Confesses to Beating Up Justin Trudeau in the Fifth Grade","datePublished":"2017-03-16T19:19:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:53:25.772Z","description":"\"It was pure jealousy\"","url":"https://time.com/4704333/matthew-perry-justin-trudeau-fifth-grade-bullying/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6746239d44f53639/69887a7c524fc08455df66f3/matthew-perry-substance-abuse-friends.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nick Romano / Entertainment Weekly"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6746239d44f53639/69887a7c524fc08455df66f3/matthew-perry-substance-abuse-friends.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Venice Family Clinic's 33rd Annual Silver Circle Gala - Red Carpet","caption":"Matthew Perry attends Venice Family Clinic's 33rd Annual Silver Circle Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel on March 9, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.","creditText":"Jason Kempin/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4704333/matthew-perry-justin-trudeau-fifth-grade-bullying/","name":"Matthew Perry Confesses to Beating Up Justin Trudeau in the Fifth Grade"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Justin Trudeau's Greatest Hits","description":"A mash up of Justin Trudeau's best moments.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/uXLetYBN/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2016-03-10T21:06:07.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/uXLetYBN.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4704333/matthew-perry-justin-trudeau-fifth-grade-bullying/","duration":"PT1M53S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4704333/matthew-perry-justin-trudeau-fifth-grade-bullying/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```