On October 28, it will be two years since Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine. The actor passed away at the age of 54, after struggling for decades with substance abuse. Known best for his role as Chandler Bing in Friends, his castmates have shared glimpses into their experience mourning him.
Jennifer Aniston played Rachel Green in the hit '90s series, and in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, she opened up about his struggles, saying they "did everything we could when we could."
For Aniston, she said it felt like they had been mourning him for a "long time" before he passed, because his battle with that disease was a really hard one for him to fight." The actress said amid the heartbreak, she's glad he's finally free. "As hard as it was for all of us and for the fans, there’s a part of me that thinks this is better,” she explained, saying she's "glad he’s out of that pain.”
Jennifer Aniston once confronted Perry
Aniston's attempts to help Perry were also documented by the actor. In his memoir Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, he opened up about how they met through mutual friends three years before they started working on the show.
Perry had a crush on her, but she gently turned him down after he asked her out, saying that she’d love to be friends. After starring on the sitcom, it was his old crush who first confronted him about his drinking while working on the show. Aniston confronted him in his trailer, saying, “I know you’re drinking.”
“I had long since gotten over her — ever since she started dating Brad Pitt, I was fine — and had worked out exactly how long to look at her without it being awkward, but still, to be confronted by Jennifer Aniston was devastating,” Perry wrote.
“And I was confused,” he added, “I’ve been trying to hide it.” To which Aniston responded, “‘We can smell it,’ she said, in a kind of weird but loving way, and the plural ‘we’ hit me like a sledgehammer. ‘I know I’m drinking too much,’ I said, ‘but I don’t exactly know what to do about it.’“
It was a "scary" moment for him, but he was thankful for it. In his October 22, 2022, interview with Diane Sawyer, Perry said, “She was the one who reached out the most. I am truly grateful to her for that.”
The cast of Friends released a group statement before sharing their personal messages. On November 15, 2023, after processing Matthew’s passing for a couple of weeks, Aniston posted a lengthy and touching farewell to her friend. "Oh boy, this one has cut deep... Having to say goodbye to our Matty has been an insane wave of emotions that I’ve never experienced before," she began.
Later in the caption, she said she felt like she could hear him after his passing, something that her costar, Cox, revealed she was doing. "Matty, I love you so much, and I know you are now completely at peace and out of any pain. I talk to you every day… sometimes I can almost hear you saying “Could you BE any crazier?” she wrote.
Perrys death
Perry was found dead in his jacuzzi, and a full toxicology report revealed that he had died from the acute effects of the anesthetic ketamine. In July, Dr Salvador Plasencia pleaded guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine, and the plea carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, per The Guardian. In the coming weeks, Plasencia is expected to enter a plea.
Three other defendants, including another doctor, agreed to plead guilty in exchange for their cooperation.