Matthew Perry’s Friends co-stars ‘utterly devastated’ – as fresh details of death emerge
Matthew Perry’s Friends co-stars say they are “utterly devastated” by his sudden death.
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer starred alongside Perry, 54, who played Chandler Bing, in the hit TV show from 1994 to 2004.
In a joint statement, the five said: “We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family.
“There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.
“In time we will say more, as and when we are able.
“For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
Friends: The Reunion saw the cast back together on screen for the first time in 17 years. Pic: Sky/ Warner Media/ HBO
It comes as the Los Angeles Fire Department released further details about Perry’s death of an apparent drowning in a hot tub.
Captain Erik Scott said a bystander had brought the actor’s head above the water and got him to the edge of the hot tub before firefighters arrived at his US home on Saturday.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a radio call of an incident just after 4pm local time.
On Monday, Perry’s initial post-mortem results were inconclusive and the cause of death is yet to be determined as further investigations, including a toxicology report, has been requested.
Pic: Everett/Shutterstock
A report released by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said that although an official conclusion is not likely to be released for several weeks, Perry’s body is ready to be released to his family, Sky News’ US partner network NBC News said.
The actor was open about his long-term addiction to drugs and alcohol, for which he was in and out of treatment while filming Friends.
The co-creators of Friends, Marta Kauffman and David Crane, and its executive producer Kevin Bright, paid tribute earlier, saying they were “shocked and deeply, deeply saddened” by Perry’s death.
They said in a joint statement: “He was a brilliant talent. It’s a cliche 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.”
All six key cast members were seen on screen together for the first time since the final episode for Friends: The Reunion in May 2021.
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In New York, adoring yet devastated fans were in tears as they paid tribute to the star outside a building that featured in the US show.
The West Village building was decorated with flowers and messages, with one fan writing “could you be anymore missed?,” a nod to one of Chandler’s sarcastic one-liners.
Streaming platform HBO Max has put an “In memory of Matthew Perry 1969-2023” card before the opening credits of every Friends episode.
Every episode of the show is available on the platform, and the tribute appears for roughly five seconds.
US
Harrison Butker: NFL distances itself from Kansas City Chiefs kicker’s speech on women as ‘homemakers’
The NFL has distanced itself from Kansas City Chiefs Harrison Butker’s controversial speech which has sparked a backlash after he suggested female graduates were most looking forward to becoming wives and mothers.
During a commencement speech to graduates at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, the Super Bowl-winning kicker railed against abortion, called Pride month a “deadly sin”, and attacked lockdown measures during the COVID pandemic.
His remarks on women in the workplace went viral after he said they were told “the most diabolical lies” and he suggested one of their most important roles in life will be “homemaker”.
“Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world,” he said.
“I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”
The 28-year-old said his wife embraced “one of the most important titles of all. Homemaker.”
The Chiefs kicker railed against abortion, called Pride month an example of ‘deadly sins’ and attacked COVID lockdown measures. Pic: Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports via Reuters
What has the NFL said in response?
In a statement, the NFL’s senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane said the Chiefs kicker was speaking in “his personal capacity”.
He told People magazine: “His views are not those of the NFL as an organisation. The NFL is steadfast in our commitment to inclusion, which only makes our league stronger.”
During the 20-minute-long speech last week, Butker – who’s made his conservative Catholic beliefs well known – also referenced lyrics from Taylor Swift – who is dating his teammate Travis Kelce – and said “familiarity breeds contempt” when discussing how Catholic priests should not become “overly familiar” with their parishioners.
When speaking about faith, he said to have pride – before adding: “Not the deadly sins sort of Pride that has an entire month dedicated to it, but the true God-centered pride that is cooperating with the Holy Ghost to glorify him.”
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Star also hit out at US president
The kicker then attacked US President Joe Biden’s “delusional” stance on abortion, saying: “He has been so vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies that I’m sure to many people it appears that you can be both Catholic and pro-choice.”
A Change.org petition calling for the Chiefs to dismiss Butker for “discriminatory remarks” has attracted more than 170,000 signatures online.
But his speech was also praised by former NFL wide receiver T.J. Moe, who said on social media: “Not a word Harrison Butker says here should be remotely controversial. He’s 100% correct.
“Those trying to convince women that being assistant VP of lending & intentionally childless at age 40 is more fulfilling than making a family and home are evil.”
US
Massachusetts teenager had cardiac arrest after eating one of spiciest crisps in world in viral challenge
A Massachusetts teenager died from a cardiac arrest after taking part in a challenge where he ate what was believed to be one of the spiciest crisps in the world.
Harris Wolobah, 14, from Worcester, died on 1 September last year after eating a Paqui chip as part of the manufacturer’s One Chip Challenge.
The challenge, popular on social media, involved eating supposedly one of the spiciest tortilla chips in the world, then bearing the heat for as long as possible before eating or drinking something else for relief.
It came individually wrapped and Paqui’s website previously said it is made from two of the hottest chilli peppers in the world – the Carolina Reaper and Scorpion.
An autopsy concluded the teenager died from a cardiopulmonary arrest “in the setting of recent ingestion of food substance with high capsaicin concentration”. Capsaicin is the component that gives chili peppers their heat.
Paqui has discontinued the One Chip Challenge after multiple reports of children being hospitalised. Pic: AP
But the Chief Office of the Medical Examiner also found Harris had an enlarged heart and myocardial bridging, where a major artery runs inside of the heart muscle instead of on its surface.
In a statement after the autopsy was released, Paqui said they were “deeply saddened” by the teen’s death, and “extend our condolences to his family and friends”.
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The Texas-based manufacturer added that because of the incident and others where teenagers were taken to hospital, they had stopped selling the spicy chip.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
“While the product adhered to food safety standards, out of an abundance of caution, we worked with retailers to voluntarily remove the product from shelves in September 2023, and the One Chip Challenge has been discontinued,” they said.
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Harris’s mother Lois Walobah told NBC10 Boston last year she was called to the school by a nurse and her son had told him a classmate gave him the chip, leaving him with a bad stomach ache.
They went home but later that afternoon his brother yelled Harris had passed out, she said.
He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
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