Luke Perry on His 30-Year Long Friendship With Trans Activist Alexis Arquette

Credit: Fameflynet Pictures

At the 28th Annual GLAAD Awards this weekend, Riverdale star Luke Perry introduced the late Alexis Arquette’s sister Patricia Arquette.

He appeared to be very emotional as a video of Patricia’s advocacy on behalf of her sister, trans actress and activist, Alexis Arquette, who died in September due to AIDS-related complications.

Entertainment Tonight caught up with Patricia after the event: “[Luke] and Lex were friends since they were kids and I remember many years ago, the height of the 90210 craze, they all said, ‘Alexis Arquette is dating Luke. Luke is secretly gay,'” Patricia told ET. “And Luke said, ‘I’m not going to say that’s not true, even though Alexis and I are just best friends because that would be to say there’s nothing wrong with it, and there’s nothing wrong with it.'”

Perry chimed in: “Look when you love somebody, you love them. Bottom line. And I loved Lex and Lex loved me, and I don’t need to explain that to anybody. That’s how love works, and that’s what’s so special about the message Patricia spreads. When you can get that love out there and bring that love into your work place, and you can hire them and look past all that stuff and get to the person that’s inside, that’s what Alexis was about. That opened that whole entire part of my life up — to be able to see the world like that. So, I owe a huge debt of gratitude and an awful lot of love.”

Patricia was named this year’s Vanguard Award recipient at the GLAAD awards for continuing to support and advocate for the LGBTQ community. In her speech, she said: “[Alexis] wanted to help move the world forward to a time and future where every trans kid could live their full potential. When it wouldn’t be uncommon to have, in your everyday life, a doctor, a cop, a real estate agent or public official, who was a transgender person. That they would get jobs, that they would get hired, they would get a shot. She wanted to help move the world forward to a time when they could be seen as complete, whole and equal human beings.”

Alexis Arquette Luke Perry