'I think I will pass': Matthew Perry responds to PM's April Fools' tweet

Actor Matthew Perry has responded to the prime minister's April Fools' Day tweet about a rematch with the Ottawa-raised actor, who last month said he once fought Justin Trudeau when they were schoolmates. 

Perry, best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the long-running sitcom Friends, posted a message Sunday on his Twitter account after Trudeau playfully took aim at him Saturday.

"I think I will pass at your request for a rematch kind sir (given that you currently have an army at your disposal)," Perry wrote.

Trudeau and Perry both attended Rockcliffe Park Public School in Ottawa.

In an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March, Perry described a memory of beating up Trudeau when they were classmates.

"I think he was excelling at a sport that we weren't, so it was pure jealousy. And, you know, we beat him up," the actor recounted.

Trudeau tweeted April 1 that he wouldn't mind revisiting the brawl: "I've been giving it some thought, and you know what, who hasn't wanted to punch Chandler? How about a rematch @MatthewPerry?"

Before Trudeau became prime minister, he won a well-publicized charity boxing match in 2012, which might have led some people to believe he wasn't joking.

Trudeau's principal press secretary Gerald Butts confirmed that it was all in good fun, after People Magazine appeared to take the prime minister's tweet seriously.

"Gotcha, @people. #poissondavril," Butts posted Saturday, retweeting the People article about Trudeau's tweet. Poisson d'avril is the French reference to April Fools'.