Why Friends couldn’t say goodbye to Matthew Perry during the Emmy Awards

None of the 5 remaining members came. “It was still too fresh for them…”

The 75th Emmy Awards ceremony paid a vibrant tribute to the star of Friends, Matthew Perry, died last October. But in the room, no trace of Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc or Courteney Cox. None of the 5 remaining friends wanted to come and the Emmy producers explain why.

The executive producers tell the Hollywood Reporter that they “contacted“the elders of Friends to invite them. “But it was still too fresh for them. We discussed it with them very early on, but they are still mourning someone who was still very close to them. I can’t speak for them, but we all have to respect the fact that these Friends were, in fact, family. And it was probably a little too early for them to come to this ceremony to honor Matthew Perry“.

So, the tribute took place in music. Charlie Puth and the duo The War and Treaty delivered a magnificent cover of the song “I’ll Be There for You”, during the In Memoriam sequence.