Matthew Perry Apologises For Slamming Keanu Reeves In Memoir: “I Should Have Used My Own Name Instead”

Matthew Perry has apologised for slamming Keanu Reeves in his upcoming memoir, Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.

“I’m actually a big fan of Keanu,” Perry’s statement reads. “I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologize. I should have used my own name instead.”

In an excerpt from the book (via New York Post), Perry wonders why Reeves is still alive when “talented” actors and “original thinkers” like River Phoenix and Chris Farley had died before their time.

“The list of geniuses who were ahead of their time is too long to detail here — suffice to say, near the top of any such list should be my co-star in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon, River Phoenix,” Perry writes.

“River was a beautiful man, inside and out — too beautiful for this world, it turned out,” Perry continues ranting. “ It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down. Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us? River was a better actor than me; I was funnier. But I certainly held my own in our scenes — no small feat, when I look back decades later.”

Reeves gets namechecked again when Perry reflected on the death of comedian Chris Farley. “His disease had progressed faster than mine had. (Plus, I had a healthy fear of the word ‘heroin,’ a fear we did not share),” Perry pens.

“I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves walks among us. I had to promote Almost Heroes two weeks after he died; I found myself publicly discussing his death from drugs and alcohol. I was high the entire time.”

Among the people baffled by Perry’s comments was Wonder Woman actor Lynda Carter, who tweeted, “Come on…Keanu Reeves is like one of those frozen cakes. Nobody doesn’t like him!.” Elsewhere, West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler wrote, “Personally thrilled that Keanu Reeves walks among us.”

Even though he didn’t name Perry, Alex Winter, Reeves’ Bill and Ted co-star, wrote in a now-deleted tweet (via The Wrap), “The surest way to consign yourself to the dustbin of the ‘90s is to take potshots that no one has made since the 90’s.”

The Reeves diss is one of many bombshells in Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, in which Perry also admits to spending US$9 million (S$12.7 mil) to stay sober and he nearly died from an opioid overuse in 2018. The book is out in stores on Nov 1.

Photos: TPG News/Click Photos