Matthew Perry’s death still hits hard for friends more than a year after the tragedy. The Friends star’s passing in October 2023 was shocking to say the least. Of course, his former co-stars, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, and Lisa Kudrow were among some of the most heartbroken. However, when they were approached to speak out about their late pal in a new documentary, each and every one of them declined the offer.
The new Peacock documentary titled Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Tragedy is now streaming. The doc dives into the Friends star’s death, which was caused by ketamine. Perry was found unresponsive in the jacuzzi of his home and later declared dead. In the weeks and months following his passing, an investigation was launched into where he got the drugs. Arrests were eventually made as the story began to come to light.
However, Perry’s death was not something that his longtime friends and co-stars seemingly wanted to relive by appearing in the documentary. Director Robert Palumbo weighed in on Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, Schwimmer, and LeBlanc declining the invitation to remember Perry in the doc, per The NY Post.
“Understandably, they were reluctant to participate in a documentary about Matthew at this point,” he said. “Maybe many years down the line… We understand their decision not to appear. Many of us remember getting that news that he had died, and then eventually getting the details [that gave us] sort of waves of anger…
“I feel like people still have him in their hearts and minds. As the facts began to come out about what happened to him, how he died and what possibly could have been a ring of people that sort of facilitated his death, I was really upset.”
Matthew Perry’s Friends Co-Stars Refused To Appear in Death Documentary
Palumbo went on to reveal that Matthew Perry touched many lives with his roles, especially as Chandler Bing on Friends. The director confessed that he believed the actor wanted to leave behind a legacy. Not for for his comedy acting, but for helping others who dealt with substance abuse.
“He was someone who wanted to be remembered, not so much for his time on Friends but for how he has been able to help other people with addiction issues. I think that that’s still the case to this day, even after his death,” he added.
It’s no surprise that Matthew Perry’s Friends co-stars didn’t appear in the documentary. They’ve stayed mostly quiet about their pal’s death over the past year. However, one day fans may see them come together to honor their late co-star publicly.
Image Credits: YouTube, Matthew Perry/Instagram.
Amanda Lynne 
