An unexpected feud? Matthew Perry‘s history with Keanu Reeves became a topic of conversation following the release of Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.
In the memoir, which Perry released in November 2022, the Friends alum seemingly threw shade at Reeves. “River [Phoenix] was a beautiful man inside and out — too beautiful for this world, it turned out. 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?” he wrote while addressing the death of their mutual friend.
The Canada native’s name resurfaced again when Perry discussed Chris Farley’s December 1997 death, adding, “I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out [about Farley’s death]. Keanu Reeves walks among us.”
Shortly after the excerpts made headlines, the 17 Again actor issued an apology to Reeves. In his statement, Perry noted that there wasn’t a specific reason why he chose the John Wick star — because he just wanted to include a “random” name.
Reeves, for his part, remained tight-lipped about the unexpected mention in Perry’s memoir.
The Go On alum rose to stardom after bringing Chandler Bing to life on Friends. The sitcom, which ran on NBC from 1994 to 2004, also starred Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.
After publishing his book, Perry admitted that he didn’t expect his former costars to get their own copy.
“Why would they read it? I don’t know,” he told GQ in October 2022. “Because, you know, who cares? Addicts are going to care about this, and fans of Friends are going to care about this. But the cast is not going to really care about this.”
At the time, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that Perry previously received support from Aniston amid his personal issues. “She always took time to listen to him, even when she was busy or had her own issues to deal with,” the insider shared, noting that Perry felt like the “people who stood by him when the chips were down” were the ones who “saved his life” and “gave him the will to carry on.”
Perry also previously praised the Morning Show star for showing her support, telling Diane Sawyer in October 2022, “She was the one that reached out the most. I’m really grateful to her for that.”
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Scroll on for a breakdown of Reeves and Perry’s history:
