Lisa Kudrow Says She’s Rewatching ‘Friends’ to Honor Matthew Perry: ‘Laughing Out Loud’

Lisa Kudrow revealed that she’s rewatching Friends to honor her former costar Matthew Perry following his shocking death.

“Honestly, I wasn’t able to watch it because it’s too embarrassing to watch yourself. But if I make it about Matthew, then that’s OK,” Lisa, 60, told The Hollywood Reporter about watching the beloved sitcom on Wednesday, June 26. “And it’s just celebrating how hilarious he was — and that is what I want to remember [about him].”

Lisa – who portrayed Phoebe Buffay on the show from 1994 until 2004 – added that the show has had her “laughing out loud” and that “everyone is hilarious.”

“I’m blown away by Courteney Cox. I’m blown away by Jen [Aniston]. Matthew, obviously, is just uniquely hilarious. No one ever knew that cadence or comedic rhythm before him,” the California native continued. “Matt LeBlanc is hilarious. And David Schwimmer, too. Sometimes I even laugh at what I’ve done.”

The Easy A actress explained that rewatching Friends is her “own little way of celebrating” the show’s anniversaries. “But it’s embarrassing. At home, if anyone walks in the room and I’m watching Friends, that’s a horrible look,” she added.

While reflecting on her time on the show, Lisa said she loved working with “funny people.” She continued, “Especially someone like Matthew whose goal was: How many laughs can I get in real life every day? So we were always laughing so hard, tears were flying out of our faces.”

When Lisa was asked how she hopes people will remember Matthew, she said she believes “the world is remembering him the way he wanted to be remembered.”

Lisa seems to have had a change of heart, as she previously said she had no interest in watching the NBC show. “I don’t watch it if it’s on,” she told Entertainment Tonight in 2019. “I might not like myself, so I’d rather not risk that.”

Matthew died at the age of 54 at his home due to the effects of ketamine in October 2023. The Los Angeles Police Department launched a criminal investigation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service into the circumstances surrounding his death, and In Touch exclusively reported that a fellow celebrity was being investigated in connection to his death on June 19.

The celebrity’s identity was originally kept under wraps, though In Touch confirmed police were in contact with Charlie Sheen’s ex-wife Brooke Mueller amid the investigation. Authorities visited the sober living facility Brooke, 46, was living at in May, and they seized an iPhone and a laptop from her.

“She’s hired lawyers and has had multiple meetings with law enforcement since they arrived at her sober living house with a search warrant. She’s being tight-lipped about the situation,” the insider shared. “It’s tough to say or know exactly what her role is [in Matthew’s death], but she’s adamant she had nothing to do with that.”

The source also explained that Matthew and Brooke “met in rehab” and they “formed an unexpected friendship.”