Matthew Perry: Fans baffled by Friends star’s ‘weird’ comments about Keanu Reeves in memoir
Fans said comments were ‘not a good look’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Matthew Perry has admitted to having bizarre feelings of resentment towards Keanu Reeves in his memoir.
The Friends star will this week release his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, in which he writes about his time on the hit sitcom and his extensive struggles with alcohol and painkiller addiction.
However, in new extracts from the memoir shared by Page Six, Perry also makes some admissions regarding his strong feelings about The Matrix star.
Reeves is mentioned in the book when Perry comments on the death of River Phoenix, who was a close friend of Reeves before his death aged 23. Perry’s first film, the 1988 movie A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, co-starred Phoenix.
In his memoir, Perry writes: “Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?”
He also makes a similar dig at Reeves when discussing Chris Farley, who died of an overdose in 1997, just after the pair had made the Christopher Guest film Almost Heroes together.
Describing learning that Farley had died of a drug overdose, Perry writes: “I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves walks among us.”
The Independent has approached Perry and Reeves’ representatives for comment.
It’s not clear where Perry’s dislike of Reeves stems from. However, the comments have baffled social media users, who said they were “not a good look” for the Friends star.
“What is the reason? I don’t think they even worked together,” one tweet read.
“What in the absolute hell is up with Matthew Perry’s (seemingly) unfounded hate of Keanu Reeves?” another commenter wrote. “Dude is beloved by absolutely everyone in Hollywood and Matthew wishes death upon him? That’s… normal.”
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
According to IMDB, Reeves and Perry never worked on any films together.
Elsewhere in his autobiography, Perry said that when his addiction issues were at their worst, he was taking 55 strong painkillers a day to get through filming Friends.
After filming Chandler and Monica’s (Courteney Cox) wedding on season seven, he was taken to rehab in a pick-up truck.
In more recent years, Perry had been due to appear in the Netflix film Don’t Look Up, but had to pull out after his heart stopped beating for five minutes while in rehab.
If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here.
In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments