Inside the Hellish Addiction, Lonely Life, and Lies He Left Behind of Matthew Perry (Exclusive)
Prior to his unexpected death on October 28, 2023, 54-year-old Friends star Matthew Perry appeared to be doing well. Perry had a history of addiction. He disclosed that he had been clean for eighteen months in September 2022, while promoting his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Terrible Thing. Filmmaker Adam McKay revealed that Perry had ideas for a bold superhero return project. Prior to the actor having to withdraw from Don’t Look Up in 2021 owing to a medical emergency,
Perry was cast in the movie. The day before Perry passed away, model and entertainment reporter Athenna Crosby had lunch with him at the Hotel Bel-Air. In November, Crosby told Us, “He was talking about how excited he was to have a second act.” However, Perry’s autopsy report quickly revealed the opposite. The cherished actor was discovered face down in the hot tub at his Pacific Palisades, California, home. The 29-page paper, which was made public on December 15, stated that the cause of his death was “acute effects of ketamine.”
The medical examiner determined that although Perry had been receiving ketamine infusion therapy for depression, the drugs in his system, which were equal to the amount used during general anesthesia, could not have come from his last known therapy session, which was a week and a half prior to his death. This finding raises the possibility that Perry was using the drug recreationally. According to the autopsy documents, Perry had apparently abstained for 19 months.