The Emmys Paid Tribute To Matthew Perry With A Touching Performance

Nearly three months after Matthew Perry’s passing on Oct. 28, the Friends star was honored at the 75th Emmy Awards on Jan. 15.

Jesse Collins, an executive producer for the ceremony, which was postponed from 2023 due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes, previously told Variety that the show had plans to honor the Friends alum and five-time Emmy nominee in a special way.

“Matthew Perry’s passing was a tremendous loss for us all and we are working to create a moment that shines a light on him, that gives him his just due as we are with so many other people that we lost this year,” Collins told the outlet.

The producer added that it was “challenging to figure out how to make sure that everyone gets their flowers” — especially in a year that lost so many beloved members of the entertainment industry.

Fortunately, the show managed to remember Perry in a way that was nuanced and impactful.

A Musical Nod To The Friends Star

The meaningful moment happened during the ceremony’s annual “In Memoriam” segment. While performing his 2015 song “See You Again,” Charlie Puth, alongside the duo The War and Treaty, switched to the familiar refrain from the Friends theme song, “I’ll Be There for You.” The tribute ended with Perry’s image and a collage of all those featured in the moving montage.

Fans watching along on X (formerly Twitter) were devastated by the transition to the Friends tune. “He will always be there for us,” was one viewer’s tearful takeaway. Another described the musical nod as a “wonderful, touching choice.”

Love From The Friends Family

Perry’s fellow Friends stars — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, and David Schwimmer — previously remembered Perry in a joint statement on Oct. 30, telling People they were “utterly devastated” by the loss.

“We were more than just castmates. We are a family,” they said, adding that they had “so much to say.”

Each of Perry’s fellow Friends alums followed up with their own posts for Perry. Aniston, for her part, remembered the late actor as her “little brother” in a tribute posted to Instagram. “This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be,” she wrote of their time together on Friends.