Selma Blair Says Matthew Perry ‘Meant So Much to Me’: ‘His Comedy Was Therapy’

Selma Blair is remembering Matthew Perry.

The Cruel Intentions actress, 51, discussed her friendship with Perry — who died aged 54 on Oct. 28 — and the impact of his death as she attended the Glamour Women of the Year Awards on Tuesday.

“I know Matthew really, really loved touching people and his comedy was therapy,” Blair told Extra at the event, held at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.

The actress added that Perry’s work on Friends cemented people’s love for him around the world.

“[Friends] was beloved because we could get into shows like that on primetime and so many people could create a family with these characters,” Blair said. “And I love that it affects everyone.”

“It’s good to grieve,” she continued. “We realize how precious things are when we have the dark seasons. And so I gladly hold this dark season for Matthew, who meant so much to me.”
Perry was found dead at his Los Angeles home on Oct. 28.

The late actor’s Friends castmates Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer said they were “utterly devastated” in a joint statement to PEOPLE following his death, adding, “We were more than just cast mates. We are a family.”

Blair also paid tribute to Perry on Oct. 28, as she posted a photo of the pair together on Instagram.

“My oldest boy friend. All of us loved Matthew Perry, and I did especially,” she wrote in a caption. “Every day. I loved him unconditionally. And he me. And I’m broken. Broken hearted. Sweet dreams Matty. Sweet dreams.”

Blair attended the annual Women of the Year Awards hosted by Glamour on Tuesday as one of the 2023 U.S. Women of the Year Honorees, alongside Brooke Shields, Quinta Brunson, Mary J. Blige, and model and transgender advocate Geena Rocero.