Matthew Perry was honored during the memorial section of the 2024 Emmy Awards. The actor’s death rocked Hollywood back in October after he was found unresponsive at his Los Angeles home. Since that time, Perry’s family, friends, and fans have been mourning his passing. Of course, his former Friends co-stars have led the charge when it comes to paying tribute to him online. That said, they weren’t there to honor Perry at the Emmys.
In the weeks since Perry’s death, there had been speculation that Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc may reunite on the Emmy stage to pay homage to their late friend. However, that didn’t happen. Although the memorial segment was moving and emotional, there was no sight of the Friends cast.
Matthew Perry’s Friends Co-Stars Didn’t Appear at the Emmys to Honor the Late Actor
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Emmy Executive Producers Jesse Collins and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay revealed exactly why they didn’t include a Friends reunion at the show. The duo admitted that they didn’t want to push the stars while they were still grieving Matthew Perry’s death.
“We had talked about it early on. But I can imagine, from their side, they’re mourning someone who was still very close to them. I can’t speak for them, but we all have to respect that they were their own family. It was probably just a little too soon,” Collins stated.
Recently, Jennifer Aniston walked her first red carpet following Perry’s death. She was asked about how she would like fans to honor her late co-star. The actress revealed a simple answer, saying, “Celebrate him.”
At the moment, the Murder Mystery star is said to be at odds with pal George Clooney over how to publicly remember Perry. Aniston allegedly wants to keep things positive. Meanwhile, Clooney is said to be more realistic in hopes of helping others with similar substance abuse issues as his late friend.
Perhaps the Friends cast will reunite to publicly remember Matthew Perry in the future. However, for now, it appears to be too fresh.