The auction, held in partnership with the Matthew Perry Foundation, features a collection of scripts, an Emmy award, works of art by Banksy and Mel Bochner, and a replica of the yellow peephole frame from Monica's apartment on Friends, according to multiple reports. Net proceeds will go to the Matthew Perry Foundation, the Matthew Perry Foundation Fellowship in Addiction Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Healing Appalachia. The foundation aims to reduce stigma around addiction and assist in recovery from substance abuse.
Lisa Kasteler Calio, CEO of the foundation, said in a statement that Perry believed addiction should be met with compassion and science, and that the auction fuels the foundation's work to expand access to evidence-based care and confront stigma. Perry, who played Chandler Bing on Friends from 1994 to 2004, was found dead in the hot tub of his Hollywood home on 28 October 2023 at age 54. The medical examiner determined that the acute effects of ketamine were the primary cause of death.
Matthew believed addiction should be met with compassion and science, not stigma and silence. This auction fuels the foundation's work to expand access to evidence-based care and confront stigma. It is one more way we ensure that no one has to fight this disease alone.
Five people have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the investigation. Jasveen Sangha, dubbed the 'Ketamine Queen', sold the drugs that killed Perry and was jailed for 15 years last month. Perry's personal assistant and a friend who acted as a middleman are still to be sentenced later this month.