Why the 'Friends' Cast Wasn't Present for the Matthew Perry Tribute at the Emmys

Courteney Cox as 'Monica Geller', Matt LeBlanc as 'Joey Tribbiani', Lisa Kudrow as 'Phoebe Buffay', David Schwimmer as 'Ross Geller', Matthew Perry as 'Chandler Bing', Jennifer Aniston as 'Rachel Green' in a 'Friends' group portrait, June 15, 1994.

On Monday, Jan. 15, the 75th Emmy Awards were held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, Calif. Viewers were moved by the "In Memoriam" portion of the awards show, which included a tribute to the late actor, Matthew Perry. Because there were so many TV show reunions at the Emmys, plenty of folks wondered: Why weren't Friends cast members present for Perry's tribute?

Emmys executive producers, Jesse Collins and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, revealing the reason: The Friends cast was never invited.

"It’s still very fresh for them," Rouzan-Clay told the publication.

"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," Collins explained. "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."

On Oct. 28, 2023, Perry died at age 54. His cause of death was due to "acute effects of ketamine," with contributing factors including drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine.

Two days after Perry's death, the main Friends cast members—Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer—released a joint statement to People.

"We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family," they wrote. "There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss."

Although the surviving Friends cast members did not reunite at the Emmys, quite a few exciting reunions went down on Monday. They included Grey's Anatomy, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Sopranos, Martin, SNL's "Weekend Update," All in the Family and Ally McBeal.

Next: The Complete List of Winners and Nominees from the Postponed 2023 Emmys