Matthew Perry has apologized and says he will remove Keanu Reeves insults in future editions of his memoir
During the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday, Matthew Perry expressed regret for insulting Keanu Reeves. Perry promised to remove all references to Reeves from his book “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing” in future editions.
This memoir was published in November 2022 and documented his struggle with addiction.
In several parts of the book, the Friends actor mentioned Reeves as an actor who continues to live while other original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger have passed away, without providing any further explanation.
He said in the book festival:
“I said a stupid thing. It was a mean thing to do.”
He added:
“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.”
Matthew Perry has apologised to Keanu Reeves (Source: CNN)
He even went on to say that he would apologize if he saw Keanu:
“If I run into the guy, I’ll apologize. It was just stupid.”
After facing major backlash for his comment, he already issued an apology last October. The statement read:
“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 actor also acknowledged the criticism about the lack of diversity in Friends:
“It was a different time. Nobody talked about diversity. We were all stupid…diversity is a huge issue. It’s the right thing to do.”
Matthew Perry insulted Reeves when talking about the deaths of River Phoenix and Heath Ledger
In his memoir, Matthew Perry insulted Keanu Reeves in a passage reflecting on the untimely deaths of actors like Joaquin Phoenix’s brother and Keanu’s close friend River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose in 1993.
He wrote in the memoir:
“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.”
Matthew Perry’s memoir (Source: Macmillan Publishers)
He continued:
“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.”
He then mentioned the John Wick actor again when discussing the death of actor Chris Farley. He died of an accidental overdose in 1997.
Perry went on to say he “punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out” about his death, adding, “Keanu Reeves walks among us.”
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