Jennifer Aniston asked fans to donate money to the Matthew Perry’s Foundation, which works to aid those suffering from addiction, as a part of Giving Tuesday.
“For Giving Tuesday, please join me and Matty’s family in supporting his foundation – which is working to help those suffering with addiction,” Aniston, 54, wrote in an Instagram Story Tuesday. “He would have been grateful for all the love.”
The “Friends” alum also included a black and white photo of Perry, 54, along with a quote from her former co-star, which read: “Addiction is far too powerful for anyone to defeat alone. But together, one day at a time, we can beat it down.”
One day prior to Aniston’s request, Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, also shared a link to the foundation that was set up after his stepson’s death on Oct. 28.
“This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different,” the “Dateline” host, 76, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) while sharing a link to the charity site. “And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do what you can; he would have been grateful.”
“In the spirit of Matthew Perry’s enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction, we embark on a journey to honor his legacy by establishing the Matthew Perry Foundation,” the site’s mission statement reads. “Guided by his own words and experiences, and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible.”
The foundation was set up mere days after Perry was found submerged and unresponsive in a hot tub located at his Los Angeles home. The late actor, who struggled with substance abuse for years, once estimated that he spent $9 million to try to get sober.
“Los Angeles city firefighters responded to the 18000 block of West Blue Sail Drive at 4:07 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2023, to find an adult male unconscious in a stand-alone jacuzzi,” the LAFD said in a statement at the time. “A bystander had brought the man’s head above the water and gotten him to the edge, then firefighters removed him from the water upon their arrival.”
The LA County Medical Examiner’s Office has since labeled Perry’s cause of death as “deferred” while awaiting the results of additional tests — including a toxicology report.
Following the announcement of the “Fools Rush In” star’s death, the cast of NBC’s “Friends” released a joint statement.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just castmates. We are a family,” Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc said in the statement. “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,” they continued. “For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”
A source close to the “Morning Show” star told the Daily Mail that Aniston was one of the “first to arrive” at his funeral on Nov. 3, and she “kept to herself” during the private ceremony.
“Nobody shed more tears for Matthew during the darkest points of his struggles with addiction than Jennifer,” the insider claimed, adding that she “genuinely thought his worst days were behind him. So his death just two years later comes as a bitter body blow for Jennifer.”
Aniston later posted a lengthy tribute to her close friend on Instagram.
“Oh boy this one has cut deep… Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before,” the star wrote. “We all experience loss at some point in our lives. Loss of life or loss of love. Being able to really SIT in this grief allows you to feel the moments of joy and gratitude for having loved someone that deep. And we loved him deeply. He was such a part of our DNA.”
“We were always the 6 of us. This was a chosen family that forever changed the course of who we were and what our path was going to be,” she continued. “For Matty, he KNEW he loved to make people laugh. As he said himself, if he didn’t hear the ‘laugh’ he thought he was going to die. His life literally depended on it. And boy did he succeed in doing just that. He made all of us laugh. And laugh hard.”
In the last couple weeks, I’ve been pouring over our texts to one another. Laughing and crying then laughing again. I’ll keep them forever and ever. Matty, I love you so much,” she added. “I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?’ ” she concluded. “Rest little brother. You always made my day.”
Perry was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood Hills, which is located across Warner Bros., where the “Friends” cast filmed the show for 10 years from 1994 to 2004.