LOS ANGELES: 'Friends' star Matthew Perry's model friend Athenna Crosby has opened up about her outing with the actor just one day before his sudden death.
After TMZ published photos of Perry grabbing lunch with a woman in Los Angeles on October 27, model Athenna Crosby came forward and identified herself in a lengthy social media post, reports eonline.
"Once again I never intended to say anything, " she wrote on her Instagram Stories Oct. 31, "but since I have been identified, yes that is me with him this past Friday."
Crosby reflected fondly on their lunch, stressing that the Friends star seemed to be doing well.
"I want to emphasise that Matthew was in extremely good spirits, and talked to me enthusiastically about the things that he had coming up in his life, " she continued.
"He was so happy & vibrant. Please refrain from any speculation surrounding his death and know that the man was on a comeback and truly deserved more time on this earth. Our entertainment industry has truly lost a legend. RIP."
On her Instagram Stories, Crosby also explained why she initially didn't say anything about her connection to Perry.
"Rest in peace, my friend, " the actress and entertainment correspondent wrote in an earlier post. "I wasn't going to speak about this but what I will say is I had the honor of knowing Matthew personally.”
“I am so devastated from his death but felt it was in poor taste to talk about it publicly as the attention should not be on me but rather on him and his legacy and he was an extremely private person and I always respected that in our friendship. But indeed, we were friends and I was one of the last people to speak to him before he passed."
In addition, she encouraged her followers to "check out his amazing and inspiring book" Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing-in which he wrote about his life, career and battle with addiction—and left them with a reminder.
"And remember to be kind to all no matter what they are facing, " she added.
"Everyone is simply trying their best."