Category: Matthew Perry

On Sunday, I followed the BAFTA ceremony on the BAFTAs social media account, where they were posting videos and updates. After the In Memoriam section aired during the telecast, there was a sudden kerfuffle in the Twitter comments – people were outraged that Matthew Perry had been left out of the tributes for artists who had passed away in the past year. The poor BAFTA social media person kept posting the same explanation to everyone complaining, which was that Perry would be memorialized during the upcoming BAFTA Television Awards. People were NOT happy.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has responded to online backlash over Matthew Perry’s absence from the 2024 EE BAFTA Film Awards’ In Memoriam segment on Sunday. After Perry, who died last October at age 54, did not appear during the tribute — set to a special arrangement of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” performed by Ted Lasso’s Hannah Waddingham — social media users were quick to criticize the decision.

On X (formerly Twitter), users called out BAFTA for the perceived omission, which one dubbed “bad form” alongside a GIF of Perry’s Friends character, Chandler Bing, saying, “You can’t make this stuff up.”

Some were perplexed by Perry’s absence, calling it “shockingly bad” and a “shocking omission.”

Others simply sought an explanation, writing, “Why wasn’t [Matthew Perry] included in the memorial sequence???”

Responding to Perry’s absence from the tribute, a spokesperson for BAFTA tells PEOPLE, “I can confirm Matthew Perry will be remembered in our forthcoming BAFTA Television Awards.”

On X, BAFTA echoed this statement, writing, “Matthew Perry will be remembered in this year’s TV Awards ceremony,” and shared the link to the academy’s online tribute to the actor.

[From People]

As I said, I felt bad for the social media person, because they were really under siege from people who outraged by BAFTA’s decision. I even sort of thought that the social media person probably disagreed with the decision, given they made a point of responding to several critics (thus probably making it into a bigger deal). It was such a stupid call by the BAFTAs, to gatekeep which deceased actors were “worthy” of the BAFTA Film memorial. While Perry was absolutely more famous for his television work, he appeared in fourteen films, including The Whole Nine Yards (an expected hit). His loss was devastating to the acting community entirely, regardless of whether he was “film actor” or “television actor.” This whole thing is so utterly snobby.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images, Instagram.

When Matthew Perry passed away on October 28, many people wondered if he relapsed or whether his passing was in any way related to his long history of drug use/abuse. I believed Perry’s friends, all of whom said that he had found an enormous amount of peace in the years before his death, that he was clean and sober. Jennifer Aniston recently said Perry had even quit smoking. In 2022, he detailed his lengthy sobriety journey in his memoir, and he wrote and said that all told, he spent about $9 million on multiple rehabs and everything else. Well, sad news – the coroner’s report came out on Friday and it looks like Perry had taken ketamine.

Matthew Perry’s cause of death has been determined.

The Friends actor died due to acute effects of ketamine, according to an autopsy report obtained by PEOPLE. Drowning, coronary artery disease and buprenorphine effects (a medication used to treat opioid use disorder) were also listed as contributing factors in his death, which was ruled accidental.

Ketamine is a “dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects,” per the US Drug Enforcement Administration. It “distorts the perception of sight and sound and makes the user feel disconnected and not in control,” and “can induce a state of sedation (feeling calm and relaxed), immobility, relief from pain, and amnesia.”

The autopsy states that Perry — who was “reportedly clean for 19 months” — was on ketamine infusion therapy, with his latest treatment taking place just “one and a half weeks before” his death. However, the coroner noted that “the ketamine in his system at death could not be from that infusion therapy, since ketamine’s half-life is 3 to 4 hours, or less.”

Per the autopsy, Perry’s death occurred by “unknown route of drug intake.” The coroner stated that Perry was found “in a residential pool,” with prescription medications and loose pills present at his residence but “none reported near the pool” or “adjacent to the pool.” The autopsy also notes that there were “no signs of fatal trauma or no foul play suspected.”

“At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,” the coroner states in the report. “Drowning contributes due to the likelihood of submersion into the pool as he lapsed into unconsciousness.”

[From People]

Just to underline the point – Perry was clean for 19 months before he began “ketamine infusion therapy,” but the ketamine in his system did not come from an infusion therapy session. Ketamine used to be – and perhaps still is? – a popular club drug and it’s also known as Special K. I would imagine that someone with money and access (like Perry) would be able to easily get his hands on it. All of this is so tremendously sad – Perry never hid the fact that he was an addict who relapsed multiple times, and he hoped that talking about all it openly would help other people begin their sobriety journeys. That hasn’t changed. Lots of sober addicts relapse, as Perry did multiple times over the course of his life as well. It’s just sad, I still feel so sorry for his parents and his friends.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, Cover Images, Instagram.

Matthew Perry passed away at his home on Saturday. TMZ reportedly paid off a police source to break the news before Perry’s family was informed of his passing. Hellish. Perry’s family came to the scene quickly and the family made some heartbreaking statements. It felt like everyone was waiting for Perry’s Friends costars to speak out, and they waited until they all agreed on a joint statement. They kept it simple. I’m sure they’re all devastated.

The Friends cast is mourning one of their own. Two days after Matthew Perry’s sudden death, his fellow castmates from the hit television series — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer — spoke out in a joint statement, exclusively obtained by PEOPLE.

“We are all so utterly devastated by the loss of Matthew. We were more than just cast mates. We are a family,” their statement reads. “There is so much to say, but right now we’re going to take a moment to grieve and process this unfathomable loss.”

“In time we will say more, as and when we are able,” the statement continues. “For now, our thoughts and our love are with Matty’s family, his friends, and everyone who loved him around the world.”

The message is then signed by Aniston, Cox, Kudrow, LeBlanc and Schwimmer.

Series co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane were joined by executive producer Kevin Bright in issuing a joint statement on Sunday.

“We are shocked and deeply, deeply saddened by our beloved friend Matthew’s passing,” they wrote. “It still seems impossible. All we can say is that we feel blessed to have had him as part of our lives. He was a brilliant talent.” Reflecting on Perry’s breakout performance, they noted, “It’s a cliche to say that an actor makes a role their own, but in Matthew’s case, there are no truer words. From the day we first heard him embody the role of Chandler Bing, there was no one else for us.”

Kaufman, Crane and Bright’s statement continued, “We will always cherish the joy, the light, the blinding intelligence he brought to every moment — not just to his work, but in life as well. He was always the funniest person in the room. More than that, he was the sweetest, with a giving and selfless heart. We send all of our love to his family and friends. This truly is The One Where Our Hearts Are Broken.”

[From People]

Calling him “Matty” broke my heart a little bit – that was his nickname with the Friends cast. I hope they’re all talking and supporting each other at this time. While I knew Perry was well-liked within Hollywood, I’ve been surprised by just how many celebrities have been mourning him as a longtime friend. Salma Hayek also posted a statement (they worked together on Fools Rush In) and Gwyneth Paltrow revealed in her statement that they hooked up in their 20s.

Gwyneth Paltrow saying a truly sweet and poignant goodbye to Matthew perry and slipping in the fact that they hooked up is EXACTLY how I want to be remembered pic.twitter.com/Udif0dQ1EA

— Lizzie Logan (@lizzzzzielogan) October 30, 2023

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Backgrid, Instagram.

Last year, Matthew Perry published his memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing. He detailed his addiction issues, his fight to get clean and sober and he also spilled some tea about Friends. Unfortunately, Perry also decided to make a few disgusting broadsides at Keanu Reeves, a man he barely knows. Keanu and Perry are sort of the same generation (Perry is 53, Keanu is 58) and it felt like Perry was trying to attack Keanu for… still being alive when River Phoenix is dead? Perry included asides like: “Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?” Perry apologized when there was a backlash about it last year. Now Perry says that he’s pulled those lines from future editions of his book.

Matthew Perry not only regrets insulting Keanu Reeves in his new book — he’s pulling Reeves’ name out of future editions of “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” Perry’s memoir of his long struggle with substance abuse and addiction.

Perry shared news of the revision at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, addressing a capacity crowd at USC’s Bovard Auditorium on Saturday afternoon during a panel moderated by Matt Brennan, The Times’ deputy editor for arts and entertainment.

“I said a stupid thing. It was a mean thing to do,” Perry said, referring to his lament in the book that former co-stars River Phoenix and Chris Farley had died while Reeves “walks among us.”

“I pulled his name because I live on the same street,” Perry said. “I’ve apologized publicly to him. Any future versions of the book will not have his name in it.” He said he hadn’t apologized in person to Reeves, but added: “If I run into the guy, I’ll apologize. It was just stupid.”

Although Perry is proud that a new generation of fans has come to appreciate “Friends” almost 20 years after the series ended, he accepts criticism that it lacked diversity.

“It was a different time,” he said. “Nobody talked about diversity.” At the same time, he added, “we were all stupid.” Now, he said, “Diversity is a huge issue. It’s the right thing to do.”

[From The Los Angeles Times]

Okay, so I still have a question – it was clear from reading just excerpts that Perry was trying to “joke” and the joke was going to fall flat, so why didn’t his editor convince him to take it out before it made it to print in the first place? My guess is that his editor was like “are you sure you want to keep this Keanu stuff in the book?” and Perry was like “yes, it needs to go in, I hate that guy and people will think I’m so funny!” Anyway, the fact that Matthew Perry was wishing death on one of the most well-liked men in Hollywood was always going to do more damage to Perry. It’s good that they’re taking out those lines.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.