Reason behind Friends cast absence at Matthew Perry’s Emmy tribute revealed

The reason behind Friends cast absence from the delayed Primetime Emmy Awards has been revealed by executive producers.

As per an interview published on Tuesday by the Hollywood Reporter, it has been disclosed that the Friends cast was not invited to attend the 75th Annual Emmy Awards in memoriam tribute on Monday to remember the industry icons, who passed away the past year.

"It’s still very fresh for them," one of the executive producers, Jeannie Rouzan-Clay told the outlet.

Her fellow executive producer, Jesse Collins shared that initially, they had a discussion to invite the castmates of the 90s sitcom which included the likes of Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc.

However, Collins revealed that they ended up deciding not to send an invite to them, "I can imagine, from their side, they’re mourning someone who was still very close to them."

She went on to explain that as the co-stars consider Matthew Perry as their own family, "it was probably just a little soon" for them to handle the emotions.

The "In Memoriam" segment at the Emmy featured an emotional homage to the ones who have been lost by the television industry in 2023.

The teary part of the celebratory award ceremony was accompanied by Chalie Puth’s vocal talent as he serenaded his 2015 hit, See You Again.

In addition to the emotional rollercoaster, the Attention hitmaker transitioned into the tunes of the Friends theme song, I’ll Be There For You.

Apart from Perry, other legendary names that were honored at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Monday included, Andre Braugher, Suzanne Somers, Norman Lear, Len Goodman, Cindy Williams, Bob Barker, Jerry Springer, and Treat Williams.