Matthew Perry’s five co-stars from Friends have released a joint official statement about the actor’s tragic passing at 54.
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer all signed the statement, telling fans they are ‘devastated’ by the news.
‘We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,’ they told People. ‘There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.’
The stars continued: ”In time we will say more, as and when we are able,’ the statement continues. ‘For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.’
Perry famously starred as Chandler Bing in the popular sitcom, alongside Aniston as Rachel, Cox as Monica, LeBlanc as Joey, Kudrow as Phoebe and Schwimmer as Ross.
Friends, which followed the lives of six friends in their 20s living in New York, was a smash hit across the globe when it aired between 1994 and 2004, and re-runs still remain hugely popular years later.
Heartbroken: Matthew Perry ‘s five co-stars from Friends have released a joint official statement about the actor’s tragic passing at 54 (last seen all together in 2021)
Unexpected death: Perry was found unresponsive in his hot tub on Saturday (pictured in 2022)
On Monday morning, Showbiz correspondent Kinsey Schofield told GB News on Monday morning that the stars were planning on releasing a joint statement soon.
‘According to sources they are reeling about the death of Matthew Perry, they say that he was their brother, and that they fiercely protected him through some of his toughest times.
‘They believe that this is incredibly unfair, according to one of Lisa Kudrow’s friends, and no one saw this coming because they felt like he was in a really good place that he had one of his best years.’
In a discussion with Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster, she continued: ‘He was so quick witted, the sarcasm was just so brilliant and he was handsome.
‘But I do think that he helped people that were at home struggling with mental health issues, that he was such an escape for them and he was the soul of that show.
She added: ‘The reality is this is a man that had 14 surgeries related to his addiction issues and there might have been consequences to his body.
‘But at this time point in time, we believe fiercely that he was in a good place, challenging his body playing pickleball for two hours, and in a good place mentally and physically, or at least trying to be.’
The speculation follows a source telling Page Six that the cast is ‘reeling’ from the loss of their ‘brother’ Matthew.
Devastating loss: Jennifer Aniston , Courteney Cox , Lisa Kudrow , Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer all signed the statement, telling fans they are ‘devastated’ by the news (seen in 1998)
‘We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,’ they told People . ‘There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss’
‘The cast is reeling from the loss of their brother, because that’s what Matty was — their brother,’ an industry source told the news outlet on Sunday, adding: ‘It’s just devastating.’
The creators Co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane and director Kevin Bright have also issued a statement following the sitcom star’s suspected drowning on Saturday.
They remembered Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the hugely popular series, for his ‘blinding intelligence’ and always being ‘the funniest person in the room.’
‘We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing,’ they said in a statement given to Deadline. ‘It still seems impossible.’
‘All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives.
‘He was a brilliant talent. It’s a cliché to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words.
‘From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us.
‘We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment – not just to his work, but in life as well.
‘He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart.
Playing on the famous episode titles in Friends, they added: ‘We send all of our love to his family and friends. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.’
Kauffman, Crane and Bright reunited with Perry along with his co-stars for the 2021 reunion special, for which they all shared an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded).
Star: Perry rose to fame for his role as Chandler Bing on the hit 90s sitcom Friends, which ran for 10 seasons
Perry won a worldwide fanbase for his role, earning him an Emmy nomination in 2002 – but behind the glitz and glamour, he secretly battled substance abuse for decades.
Late Saturday night, Perry’s body was stretchered into a coroner’s van from the front door of his LA home.
Staff from the LA County Medical Examiner’s Office loaded Perry’s body into the van before closing its doors and driving off.
Perry is believed to have drowned hours after a game of pickleball, and in a redacted recording of the dispatch audio a man can be heard saying ‘rescue 23’, and ‘drowning’.
A law enforcement mole told TMZ that investigators had discovered prescription anti-depressants and anti-anxiety pills at Perry’s luxurious home, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean – but that no illegal drugs were found inside.
The actor was also in possession of a prescription COPD drug.
COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with the meds found at Perry’s home usually used for people with emphysema or chronic bronchitis.
Perry was a smoker and had also battled an addiction to alcohol as well as opiates, but claimed to have been clean shortly before his suspected drowning death.
The fresh revelations came after it was reported that EMTs were called to the home of the Friends star for a ‘water emergency’ and arrived to discover the actor had drowned, it is claimed.
Police sources told NBC News and CNN that they’d initially believed they were attending a possible ‘water rescue’ at the funnyman’s Pacific Palisades home after being called at 4:07pm PST Saturday.
They arrived to find the 54-year-old dead of an apparent drowning in his hot tub, with the LA Times reporting that Perry was ‘unresponsive.’
Officers from the LA Police Department’s robbery-homicide division were also sent to the home in Pacific Palisades, but a source said no drugs or signs of foul play were found at the scene.