Adele is paying tribute to Matthew Perry. The GRAMMY winner honored the late Friends star with a heartfelt story about her personal connection to his character, Chandler Bing, despite having never met the actor in person.
“It was quite shocking,” Adele told the audience at her Las Vegas show over the weekend, referencing the breaking news of Perry’s death. “Especially when someone that made you laugh, who brought so much joy to your life that you don’t know. This is what I find so strange, I’ve never met him in my life.”
The 35-year-old singer — who was dressed as Morticia Addams for Halloween — went on to express the sadness she was feeling about the loss of Perry.
“You feel so sad about it, especially because you don’t necessarily know what was going on,” she shared.
“Some of my favorite memories of when I was younger with my friends, and one of my friends, Andrew, when I was like 12, did the best Chandler impression,” she recalled. “He would do it all the time to make us laugh and if any of us were having a bad day or feeling low, he would just pretend to be Chandler. And I’ll remember that character for the rest of my life.”
Adele remembered visiting the classic Friends experience in New York City on her first trip to the Big Apple and suggested that the show “was a really big part of my life.”
She also praised Perry’s outspoken advocacy for those suffering from addiction. The actor reflected on his own addiction struggles in his 2022 autobiography, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
“He was so open with his struggles with addiction and sobriety, which I think is incredibly, incredibly brave,” she said. “I just wanna say how much I love what he did for us. Especially what he did for me. [He] created one of the best comedic characters of all time, and hopefully now he can rest in peace.”
With that, she launched into her 2016 hit, “When We Were Young.”
Perry died on Saturday, Oct. 28. He was 54.
According to TMZ, who spoke to law enforcement, the Friends star was found dead at his home in Los Angeles, California.The Los Angeles Times reported he was in his hot tub.
While promoting his book in November 2022, the 17 Again star opened up about what he hoped his legacy would be after his death.
“The best thing about me, bar none, is if somebody comes up to me and says, ‘I can’t stop drinking. Can you help me?’ I can say yes and follow up and do it,” Perry said. “And I’ve said this for a long time: when I die, I don’t want Friends to be the first thing that’s mentioned — I want that to be the first thing that’s mentioned. And I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that.”
Perry is survived by his mother, Suzanne Marie Morrison, and his father, John Bennett Perry.
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