When An Anonymous Friend Claimed Matthew Perry Was Never 'Clean': "He Lied to Everyone"

For his family, friends, and fans, Matthew Perry's unexpected passing has created a void and raised concerns over his 'sobriety' claims. As of last week, the cause of death was officially reported to be 'high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens.' A close friend of Perry's who wished to remain anonymous said that Perry was never 'clean.' "He lied to everyone about being clean. He never was. It's very sad.

The biggest lie he told was probably to himself." As per Marca, the unnamed friend also disclosed that at times, the Friends actor could be "quite a manipulative person when it came to his struggles with consumption, it was a fight, a battle, and he fought every day to the end."

As reported by The Daily Mail, Perry had always been open about his drug addiction and detailed his journey in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. The Serving Sara actor had revealed that, while receiving treatment in Switzerland, he was receiving ketamine infusion therapy, which frequently gave him the impression that he was taking 'a giant exhale,' but on occasion, it also gave him the impression that he was 'dying.' In his book, he detailed he was receiving the treatment because, in today's world, synthetic ketamine is used 'to ease pain and help with depression.'

He claimed that ketamine 'had my name written all over it' and that 'they may as well have dubbed it "Matty" because of this.' "They'd bring me into a room, sit me down, put headphones on me so I could listen to music, blindfold me, and put an IV in," the actor recalled in his book.

He'd written that during the infusions, he would 'disassociate' while listening to music and that he 'frequently thought that I was dying during that hour.' "Oh, I thought, this is what happens when you die," he continued. "Yet I would continually sign up for this s*** because it was something different, and anything different is good." 

"Taking K is like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel. But the hangover was rough and outweighed the shovel," he said, concluding that "ketamine was not for me." Renowned neuroscientist Dr. Bankole Johnson exclusively told Page Six: “It is more likely this was recreational ketamine use," before adding, “It would be questionable medicine to provide ketamine to someone also using buprenorphine - a true recipe for disaster.”  

As reported by The UK Mirror, a female companion had also mentioned that the testosterone shots Perry was taking had caused him to become 'angry and mean' in the weeks before his death. The Three to Tango actor had also been using anti-diabetic medication, nicotine lollipops, and tamoxifen, a prescription usually used to treat breast cancer, to aid with weight loss.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on December 19, 2023. It has since been updated.