The world has been left shocked and saddened by the news of Matthew Perry’s passing on Saturday, October 28. As friends, fans, and co-stars mourn his sudden and tragic death, questions remain left unanswered. With the autopsy report deferred, pending final toxicology results, there have been conspiracies and theories online. The final days leading up to his passing have also been closely examined.
© GettyImagesAfter his passing, photos became made public of his final days. One day before the actor’s death, he was photographed on a lunch date with a woman.
© GROSBYGROUPOn Tuesday, the 25 year-old, Athenna Crosby, identified herself on Instagram, sharing a photo of the actor on her Story, confirming that she was one of the last people to see him alive. “Rest in peace, my friend,” she wrote. “I wasn’t going to speak about this but what I will say is I had the honor of knowing Matthew personally.”
According to Crosby’s website, she is a “Latina-American” with dual citizenship in the US and Venezuela. “I am so devastated from his death but felt it was in poor taste to talk about it publicly as the attention should not be on me but rather on him and his legacy and he was an extremely private person and I always respected that in our friendship,” she continued.
In a follow-up post she added, “I want to emphasize that Matthew was in extremely good spirits and talked to me enthusiastically about the things he had coming up in his life,” she wrote. “He was so happy and vibrant.”
On Wednesday, after sharing her statement and encouraging people to read his book, the artist shared multiple videos explaining why she decided to come forward, and her intentions.
The actress clarified that she is a professional in the entertainment industry and said that she would have never talked about her relationship with Perry, or any celebrity, if the photo hadn’t been made public. “Somebody ousted my name. So I almost had no choice but to come forward and explain who I am and the mental state he was in the day before he died because there is a lot of speculation going on,” she said, adding “I’m only here to talk about him in a positive and respectful way.”
The journalist and TV host emphasized that she isn’t seeking fame and is only testifying of his mental state, saying their conversation was positive. She also encouraged people not to make conspiracies about his death and to pivot the conversation away from herself and to his family, friends, costars, and network, who knew him more than she did.
She didn’t delve into details about the nature of their relationship, whether it was romantic, or not. According to her Instagram bio, she is a journalist, host, actor, Venezuelan citizen, and singer. She describes herself as an advocate for disability inclusion and awareness.
