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.”
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.
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- Celebrities At ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Featuring: Matthew Perry Where: New York, New York, United States When: 01 Nov 2022 Credit: ROGER WONG/INSTARimages.com/Cover Images
Self-sabotage runs strong in that guy.
It really does. Such a shame.
An unattractive, deeply unhappy man. Inside and out.
💯
The fact that Keanu Reeves is a whole 5 years younger than Matthew Perry says a lot about how drug addiction can ravage the human body. Also, what a mean-spirited thing to say about someone. It’s also so incredibly stupid to ponder how a bunch of actors who were known to be lost in drug addiction are dead, while another one who is not known to be an addict is alive. That musing says so much about Matthew Perry’s powers of reasoning.
Keanu is 58, Matthew 53.
Look at him! My god. He’s bloated and…looking ill imo. Alcohol? Pills? He’s destroying himself.
He’d go on talk shows and tell everybody he used to beat up Justin Trudeau. Matt was the older tougher guy. Whether you like J.T.’s politics or not, that man is fit.
Well.
Diversity & racism have always been discussed, Matthew. You weren’t discussing it because you benefited from your white privileged life, so what did you care?
I always get the impression he’s trying to hide his horrible personality behind being an addict: it’s the addiction that makes me horrible. Like that.
But it’s not. He’s just an ass.
I know, right? He makes it sound like the 1980s was the Antebellum era. If so, then how come Seinfeld (a show which began before Friends and gave rise to his show) managed to show the diversity of New York?
Right? I came down to post on “It was a different time,” he said. “Nobody talked about diversity.”
Maybe his memory is addled but there was criticism of the whiteness of the show back when it aired.
Also, the fact that he thinks “no one” talked about diversity translates to he thinks BIPOC are no one.
What an a**hole.
He is not a true GenX. I remember in the 90’s that is all we talked about was diversity. I didn’t watch Friends because I felt like it was a show about spoiled popularity crowd. Those were my angst years.
He didn’t want talk about diversity but to say our Generation didn’t shows his privileged and tunnel vision.
Nobody talked about diversity? I’m a 90s girl; Friends was criticized fornlack of diversity at the time. So was Seinfeld. And didn’t David Schwimmer argue for more diversity on the show while it was airing? I’m sure I read that. He’s just an asshat.
By the way, did anyone see Schwimmer on the Great British Bake Off? He was a delight!
What? No! I must watch that NOW!
Never could stand Schwimmer. Creepy repugnant guy. Remember the report of him dumping his long time girlfriend when he “became Ross”, saying that ” he could do better now”?
Also always creeped me out to see him touch J.A.
🇧🇧
@Cyd larkin:
Yes, David Schwimmer really is gross with his remarks about being “saddened” by “the atmosphere of terror” that #MeToo allegedly unleashed on poor widdle men.
Women finally having the courage to speak about sexual harrassment and sexual assault was a “witch hunt” according to this misogynist navel-gazer.
He also added “There was a lot of overreacting”.
Schwimmer wanted separate sets of categories for “egregious” crimes as opposed to “more complex situations” i.e. he’s one of the “real rape” brigade. Big Matt Damon Energy from this tool.
I knew immediately that this tosser was with a woman about twenty years younger than him, who would put up with this bullshit. After fact-checking, I can confirm that yes, he was – met his wife when he was 40 and she was 21. They split up shortly after she turned 30.
Those photos look like he’s coming from an AA meeting. Not good. Should respect their anonymity. Yes, an assumption that that is what it is, but looks like that to someone who’s been there/done that.
As a Friends fan I was excited to read his book but I could not get through it. I’m sympathetic to the struggles of any addict but his off putting attitude (unkind digs at Keanu included) soured it for me.
I used to be a fan of Matthew Perry.
Then I read his book.
No longer a fan, at all.
And yes, I think the Editors likely tried to remove the bitter Keanu items, and yes I think MPs insisted they stay in thinking I’m so funny. Not funny, just mean and petty.
That book did him no favors, he showed himself to be unkind, self-absorbed, petty.
I wonder if anyone looking to get sober found anything useful in reading his book.
Agree 100%
Proof that not every celebrity should write a memoir. He could have shared a story about addiction and perhaps given hope to others fighting the disease, but instead comes off as a spoiled white man who was given opportunity after opportunity, and still sees himself as a victim.
Perry needs to stop tanning he’s getting into the Dump territory of orange.
“It was a different time,” he said. “Nobody talked about diversity.”
Except for all the people fighting for diversity, inclusion, equal rights. Wow his ignorance and bigotry are really showing in that comments
I was a grown up person during the time of Friends. In my late 20’s – early 30’s.
Matthew Perry is right. Times are different now.
In all those years I remember hearing something about lack of diversity one time. Once .
I always thought the ” answer” to that criticism was answered by making Professor Charlie and Ross’s love interest a woman of color.
There was also a short segment in one episode with black young woman named Kristin who moved across the street from the Friends. Both Ross and Joey went on a date with her.
Diversity was mentioned in regard to Friends.
But the topic and concept and feeling of the country was , I guess, important but not that big of a desl.
Now we know how important diversity is.
It should be a given and when not, it’s called out. In every walk of life, not just a tv series.
So yes , times were different then. Not that that lack of it never existed. Now the majority realize how important and speak out. Yes times are different now. So leave Matthew alone.
What did Keanu ever do to Matthew Perry ????
I thought it was such a random thing to put in the book .
A lot of actors have done drugs , just look at the past patrons of the Viper Room.
…those comments about Keanu are the sort of very stupid things one says while high…I believe he is jealous and pissed off that Keanu Reeves has had a long, stable and succesful career, while he does not…
I agree he seems jealous of Keanu career and sobriety .
Those nasty digs were the kind of thing cool people said about Keanu during the 90s, people forget it now because Keanu is such a honey and has created so many enduring characters (Ted, Neo and John Wick) but there was a time it was cool to sneer at him for being a himbo. (Take for example the first season of the otherwise excellent Slings and Arrows) It was nonsense then as it’s nonsense now, but if Perry had published those bits in the 90s no one would have batted an eye. Like a lot of addicts and ex-stars Perry lives in a time warp where it is always his glory years so I think he had no idea how badly sneering at Keanu was going to bomb.
…I agree with you; back then no one would have guessed Keanu would endure and be respected…
So disappointed in Perry for so long. Liked him on the show, then. . .
Saw him on the old Ellen show where he treated three fans from Australia like crap. The end of him for me.
It really was a very 90s take, that Keanu was the stand-in for “bad actor.” We’ve all gotten to know him better, though, and the 2020s take on Keanu is that he is precious and must be protected at all costs!
@tealily:
Absolutely!
“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.”
Yeah…hard pass. This man, who has ALWAYS had the strength of his friends and incredible wealth (and fans, because we all knew when he was super skinny it was desperate) thinks he doesn’t need to make amends. “If I run into the guy…”
I was such a Monica/Chandler fan, at least I still have Monica. I can recognize an addict who has not remotely taken responsibility for his actions, and still doesn’t grasp what recovery means.
Yeah, he ruined any good will I had for him with those Keanu jabs. He needs to shut up and go live off his Friends money.