Photo courtesy of Emily

Matthew Perry, whose most famous role is Chandler Bing on the TV show Friends, died on October 28, 2023.

“I was very shocked, and I was sad because I know that he’s struggled a lot over the years,” said English teacher Kristen Henry.

Perry struggled with addictions to various substances throughout his life, and he went through many rehabs and treatments. In the end, he would turn his pain into support and use his experience and connections to help other people through struggles of their own, including turning his Malibu home into a recovery center for those struggling with addiction, according to DailyMail. The home closed after two years due to money shortages, but Perry continued trying to help and advocate for those with addictions.

“I was actually pretty sad [when he died] even though I didn’t know him as much as my friends or my siblings did. We were all very sad when he died. It was very shocking, actually, because we found out in the middle of the night, and then my whole family was just so down because they used to watch Friends, and that was one of their favorite comedy shows,” explained sophomore Makda Kiros.