Matthew Perry BACKTRACKS as he apologizes for questioning why Keanu Reeves ‘still walks among us’ after lamenting that River Phoenix died young: ‘I just chose a random name’
- Perry, 53, seemed to complain that Reeves, 58, had outlived some of his costars
- After the revelation, Friends actor released a statement clarifying his comments
- He said: ‘I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologize’
- He lamented artists like River Phoenix dying while Reeves continues to work
- Reeves has described Phoenix as one of his best friends
- Perry made his feature debut opposite River in 1988
- The Friends star took another jab at Reeves while mention Chris Farley’s death
- He delves into his history of drug addiction in his upcoming memoir
Matthew Perry has backtracked on his shockingly negative feelings about Keanu Reeves as he has apologized for what he wrote in upcoming memoir Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing.
In the book Perry, who recently delved into his history with drug addiction, writes, ‘Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?’ in a passage obtained by Page Six.
After the revelation, the Friends actor released a statement clarifying his comments to People on Wednesday as he said: ‘I’m actually a big fan of Keanu.
Mistake? Matthew Perry has backtracked on his shockingly negative feelings about Keanu Reeves as he has apologized for what he wrote in upcoming memoir Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing
‘I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologize. I should have used my own name instead.’
In the excerpt Perry, 53, seemed to be barely able to hold back his disdain for the 58-year-old Matrix star — whom he doesn’t appear to have ever collaborated with — while discussing their mutual friend River Phoenix, who died in 1993 of a drug overdose at only 23.
Although Reeves has called Phoenix one of his ‘closet friends of that era,’ according to the Irish Times, Perry also had a strong connection with the rising star after the future TV mainstay made his feature film debut opposite him in 1988’s A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon.
In the book Perry, who recently delved into his history with drug addiction , writes, ‘Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?’ in a passage obtained by Page Six
In his memoir, Perry describes how their time filming the movie in Chicago helped establish a strong bond, while also tagging another presumed jab at Reeves.
‘River was a beautiful man inside and out and too beautiful for this world, it turned out. It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down,’ he writes.
Phoenix famously died of a combined drug overdose from heroin and cocaine outside the Viper Room in West Hollywood, and Perry writes that he ‘heard the screaming from my apartment; went back to bed; woke up to the news.’
He added that he broke down in sobs after learning his friend had died.
Although Reeves has called Phoenix one of his ‘closet friends of that era,’ Perry also had a strong connection to him after he made his feature film debut opposite Phoenix in 1988’s A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon; Phoenix and Reeves in My Own Private Idaho
Sour grapes: ‘Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?’ in a passage obtained by Page Six; still from the Friends reunion
Perry’s jabs and Reeves weren’t limited to their mutual connection to Phoenix, though.
He also blasted the John Wick star in another aside while discussing his late friend Chris Farley, who died in 1997 at age 33 of a drug overdose from combining a stimulant (cocaine) with a depressant (morphine), a similar concoction to the speedball that killed Phoenix.
Perry and Farley had starred together in the critically reviled Christopher Guest–directed comedy Almost Heroes, which was released in the year following Farley’s death.
Perry again complained that Reeves was still alive while noting his sadness over his friend and costar Chris Farley’s 1997 death from a drug overdose; seen in 1997 with Lisa Kudrow
‘I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out [about Farley’s death],’ he writes, adding, ‘Keanu Reeves walks among us.’
Aside from his grievances about other actors, Perry delves into his extensive history with drug addiction in his memoir and in recent interviews, which may have made the deaths of Phoenix, Ledger and Farley particularly painful.
While speaking to People earlier this month, he revealed that his colon ruptured as a result of his opioid addiction when he was 49. Doctors gave him only a two percent chance of survival, and the medical emergency left him in a coma for two weeks, followed by months more in the hospital.
He required 14 surgeries to help repair all of the abdominal damage, and he admitted to having gone to rehab 15 times over the years in hopes of kicking his drug addiction.
Perry’s memoir Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing will be released on November 1.
Dark times: Aside from his grievances about other actors, Perry delves into his extensive history with drug addiction in his memoir and in recent interviews, which may have made the deaths of Phoenix, Ledger and Farley particularly painful; seen in 2017
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