Charlie Puth Honors Late Friends Star Matthew Perry During Melbourne Performance

Charlie Puth made sure to honor Matthew Perry during his concert last night in a sweet tribute as a self-declared Friends “superfan.”

The musician was playing his first of two shows in Melbourne, Australia over the weekend when he took some time to honor Matthew Perry just hours after news broke that the actor had died. Puth sat at his piano and started playing the Friends theme song, “I'll Be There For You,” as the crowd joined in. Fan footage showed the entire Margaret Court Arena belting out the beloved song in a very touching moment.

Puth then transitioned into “When I See You Again,” the 2015 Wiz Khalifa song the artist is featured on. Puth has said in the past that the song was inspired by the death of one of his friends.

Charlie Puth has been a longtime and vocal fan of the beloved 90s sitcom Friends and even put his fandom to the test in 2019 during an episode of Billboard's Quizzed series. Sitting opposite Courtney Cox, who played Monica on the show, Puth was hurled detailed questions about Friends and got a majority of them right. At the end of the episode, he pulled out a keyboard and played Cox the theme song.

Matthew Perry died on October 28 after first responders found him unresponsive in a hot tub in his Los Angeles home. He was 54. The actor famously portrayed Chandler Bing on Friends for ten seasons and later went on to act in feature films including The Whole Nine Yards, 17 Again, Fools Rush In, and more.

The actor has been open about his ongoing struggle with substance abuse and addiction throughout the years. He released a memoir in 2022 called Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, about his addiction and health issues.

Ahead of the Friends anniversary reunion on Max in 2021, Puth joked that he would love to play Chandler's “long lost son,” and that people tell him how similar he is to the character.