BAFTA viewers were left furious after seeing that late actor Matthew Perry had been left out of the memoriam list for this year’s ceremony.
The star-studded awards do took place yesterday at the Royal Festival Hall in London, with Christopher Nolan epic Oppenheimer coming out as the big winner for 2024 after landing several accolades including Best Film, Best Director, Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Editing, Cinematography and Original Score.
Emma Stone took home the Best Leading Actress gong for her turn in Poor Things, which received five awards in total, while The Zone of Interest won three prizes - Outstanding British Film, Film Not in the English Language and Sound.
During the ceremony, BAFTA took a moment to pay respect to all of the industry figures who had died in the past year, with Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham leading the tribute with a poignant performance of ‘Time After Time’ by Cyndi Lauper.
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As she sang, photos of those we’ve lost appeared on screen, including the likes of Michael Gambon and Carl Weathers.
One face that didn’t appear, however, was actor Matthew Perry.
While he was best known for his beloved role of Chandler in Friends, he had starred in a number of films over the years, from Zac Efron comedy 17 Again to indie flick Birds of America, which premiered at Sundance in 2008.
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He also featured alongside Bruce Willis in 2000 crime-comedy The Whole Nine Yards, and its sequel The Whole Ten Yards.
After the memoriam segment was shown, many fans were upset to see he didn’t receive a mention, despite being a big name in film as well as TV.
One tweeted: “Seriously BAFTA? NO mention of Matthew Perry in the In Memoriam tribute? Very disrespectful. #EEBAFTAs.”
Someone else said: “No mention of Matthew Perry in the #BAFTAs memorial?! Bad form @BAFTA.”
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A third wrote: "Hannah Waddingham's voice is so beautiful. It's a shame BAFTA left Matthew Perry off the list though.”
Pointing out that Perry and others may receive their mention at the TV BAFTAs later this year, one other added: “I suspect Matthew Perry [and Scottish actor David McCallum] will get their acknowledgements at the #BAFTA TV Awards, a medium on which they arguably had their greatest impact.
“But I appreciate they feel like howling omissions.”
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A spokesperson for BAFTA confirmed to Tyla that Perry would be honoured in the forthcoming ceremony for the TV awards, saying in a statement: “I can confirm he will be remembered in our forthcoming Television Awards.”
BAFTA also went on to address the matter on social media, tweeting: “Matthew Perry will be remembered in this year’s TV Awards ceremony.”
It also linked through to an on-site tribute for Perry, which listed his achievements in TV and film.
The 54-year-old was found dead at his home in Los Angeles on Saturday 28 October last year.
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"We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of our beloved son and brother,” his family said in a statement at the time.
"Matthew brought so much joy to the world, both as an actor and a friend."
A post-mortem examination concluded that Perry died from the 'acute effects of ketamine', also listing contributing factors that included 'drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine' – a drug used to treat opioid use disorder.
Topics: Celebrity, Entertainment, Matthew Perry, Baftas, TV And Film
Jess Hardiman