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Matthew Perry: Fans baffled by Friends star’s ‘weird’ comments about Keanu Reeves in memoir

Fans said comments were ‘not a good look’

Isobel Lewis
Wednesday 26 October 2022 08:24 BST
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Matthew Perry opens up about time Jennifer Aniston confronted him over addictions

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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 apparent dislike of Reeves comes from
It’s not clear where Perry’s apparent dislike of Reeves comes from (Getty Images for Lionsgate)

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.”

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According to IMDB, Reeves and Perry never worked on any films together.

Perry writes about Reeves twice in his memoir
Perry writes about Reeves twice in his memoir (Getty Images)

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.

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