Adele honors ‘incredibly brave’ Matthew Perry during Las Vegas show

LAS VEGAS —  British singer-songwriter Adele paused her Las Vegas show to pay tribute to actor Matthew Perry, who was found dead Saturday in the hot tub of his Los Angeles home at age 54.

“I’ll remember that character for the rest of my life,” the star said of Perry’s “Friends” character Chandler Bing to cheers from the audience at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, site of her ongoing Vegas residency. “He’s probably the best comedic character of all time.”

Adele, dressed up as Morticia Adams for the Halloween weekend performance, paused to honor Perry while introducing her song “When We Were Young,” about two-thirds through her set, as she worked her way through the audience to collect favorite childhood memories from attendees.

California

‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry dead at 54, found in hot tub at L.A. home

Authorities found Perry unresponsive in his Los Angeles home Saturday. There was no sign of foul play.

Oct. 29, 2023

“One of my friends Andrew when I was, like, 12 did the best Chandler impression,” the singer recalled from the stage. “He would do it all the time to make us laugh and if any of us were having a bad day or feeling low he would just pretend to be Chandler.”

Adele, who made her own decision to stop drinking earlier this year, also addressed Perry’s issues with alcohol and opioid addiction, which he wrote about in his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.” “He was so open with his struggles with addiction and sobriety, which I think is incredibly, incredibly brave,” she said.

Though the singer, 35, noted that she had “never met [Perry] in my life,” she mentioned him again later in the show after bursting into tears when she spotted her OB-GYN in the audience: “It’s a very emotional night.”

Adele was among numerous luminaries, including Mira Sorvino and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to pay tribute to Perry on Saturday.