Jennifer Aniston is asking fans to honor Matthew Perry in a special way.
“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 via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, November 28. “He would have been grateful for all the love.”
Alongside Aniston’s plea was a black and white photo of Perry and a quote from the actor, which read, “Addiction is far too powerful for anyone to defeat alone. But together, one day at a time, we can beat it down.”
Giving Tuesday — which occurs on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving each year — is a day for radical generosity. One day before Aniston’s call to action, Perry’s stepfather, Keith Morrison, also encouraged fans to aim their philanthropic efforts toward Perry’s organization.
“This is not the sort of thing I commonly do, this pitch. But this year is different,” Morrison, 76, wrote via X(formerly Twitter), sharing a link to the charity’s website. “And tomorrow is Giving Tuesday. Do what you can; he would have been grateful.”
The Matthew Perry Foundation was launched earlier this month. Its mission is to help those struggling with addiction. “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, guided by his own words and experiences, and driven by his passion for making a difference in as many lives as possible,” the organization said in a statement at the time.
The charity was founded days after Perry died at the age of 54 on October 28 at his Los Angeles home. Perry was found unresponsive in a jacuzzi after police responded to a call of cardiac arrest. His official cause of death has yet to be determined pending a toxicology report.
Following the news of Perry’s death, his Friends costars — including Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow — honored their longtime pal.
“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just castmates. We are a family,” they said in a joint statement to Us Weekly. “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 continue to 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.”
Days later, the cast attended a private funeral for Perry, which was held on November 4 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills neighborhood, near Warner Bros. Studios where Friends was filmed. (The series aired on NBC for ten seasons from 1994 to 2004.)
Aniston later individually mourned Perry via Instagram, calling his passing a “deep” cut.
“Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before,” Aniston wrote earlier this month. “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.”
Aniston described Perry as someone whose life “depended” on making people laugh, sharing a sweet text exchange between the twosome. “Making you laugh just made my day. It made my day :),” the actor texted Aniston alongside a photo of them together. She replied, “Awww the first of THOUSANDS of times … ”
Aniston concluded her tribute by saying she knows Perry is “at peace” and “out of any pain,” adding, “I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying ‘could you BE any crazier?’ Rest little brother. You always made my day.”
