Originally appeared on E! Online
“Friends” fans will always be there for Matthew Perry.
In fact, viewers of the 2024 Emmy Awards were quick to call out the fact that Perry — who died in October 2023 from the acute effects of ketamine — wasn’t included during the In Memoriam segment at the Sept. 15 award show.
“did I miss it or did the Emmy’s not show Matthew Perry????” one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Another added, “How in the world did the Emmy’s not include Matthew Perry?!?!”
However, there was a reason that Perry did not appear: He was already honored at the 2023 Emmys ceremony, which was held in January after being pushed back from its normal September 2023 spot because of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strikes.
During that show, the Emmys paid tribute to Perry in a touching way, playing “Friends'” iconic theme song “I’ll Be There For You” during the In Memoriam segment, which concluded with an image of Perry.
However, Perry’s Friends costars — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer — were not involved in the segment during the Jan. 15 award show.
As Emmys executive producer Jeannae Rouzan-Clay told The Hollywood Reporter at the time, “It’s still very fresh for them.”
Fellow executive producer Jesse Collins also noted that the team had discussed bringing the cast together “early on” in the planning process, but that looking at it from their perspective, “they’re mourning someone who was still very close to them.”
“I can’t speak for them,” Collins added, “but we all have to respect that they were their own family. It was probably just a little too soon.”
Following Perry’s death, his costars have been candid about how much they miss the Emmy nominee, with Cox recently sharing that she still feels his presence in her life.
“He visits me a lot, if we believe in that,” she explained on “CBS Sunday Morning” in May. “I talk to my mom, my dad, Matthew. I feel like there are a lot of people that guide us. I sense Matthew’s around for sure.”
Cox also reflected on how meaningful it is to share such a close bond with her costars.
“I’m grateful that I had that opportunity to work with such wonderful people and to live the life that I have now,” she added. “That was my family. We went through everything. Those 10 years were everything.”
