Matthew Perry Decides to Remove Comments on Keanu Reeves From Future Editions of His Memoir
Hollywoodreporter.com: Matthew Perry has decided to turn his words into actions regarding his negative comments about Keanu Reeves in his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
After previously apologizing for the passages that reference the John Wick actor, Perry said at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday that he is removing Reeves’ name from future editions of the book, because “I said a stupid thing. It was a mean thing to do.”
In October 2022, days before his memoir hit shelves, Perry released a statement to media outlets, saying, “I’m actually a big fan of Keanu. I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologize. I should have used my own name instead.”
The excerpts that the Friends star is referencing are ones where he opens up about his own struggles with addiction and alcoholism and expressed that other actors, like his former co-stars River Phoenix and Chris Farley, have died due to addiction, while Reeves “still walks among us.”
In one instance, when discussing Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose in 1993, Perry wrote in the book, “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?”
The Odd Couple actor said at the Los Angeles Times event, “I pulled his name because I live on the same street. … I’ve apologized publicly to him. Any future versions of the book will not have his name in it.”
He added that he has not apologized to Reeves in person, but “If I run into the guy, I’ll apologize. It was just stupid.”
Later during the conversation Saturday, despite the negative comments about Reeves, Perry said that he did his “best to not go after anybody in the book. That wasn’t the point.”
“I’ve been in therapy since I was 18 years old,” the actor shared. “I wanted to make sure that this wasn’t the kind of book where I blame people for the things they did wrong. You have to give them credit for the things they did right.”