Actor Matthew Perry has become known for a number of roles throughout the years. Though, he’s perhaps best remembered for his work as Chandler Bing on the sitcom series Friends. The series is even referenced in the title of his new memoir titled Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. However, Matthew Perry is already facing backlash over the book for comments made about beloved actor Keanu Reeves.
As noted while speaking with People, he now wants to apologize for his comments. Ahead of the book’s release, several excerpts were revealed online. This included an excerpt where Matthew Perry stated late actor River Phoenix “was a beautiful man, inside and out – too beautiful for this world, it turns 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?”
As one might imagine, readers were displeased with the use of Keanu Reeves’ name. Now Matthew Perry has apologized for his comments regarding Keanu Reeves. Here’s how he chose to apologize, after explaining that he’s “actually a big fan of Keanu,” and how he shouldn’t have used his name like that:
“I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologize. I should have used my own name instead.”
He also mentioned Keanu Reeves another time in his memoir when referencing the death of comedian Chris Farley. Here’s what he had to say during that particular excerpt:
“His disease had progressed faster than mine had. (Plus, I had a healthy fear of the word ‘heroin,’ a fear we did not share),” he wrote. “I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves walks among us.”
The internet has become rather protective of Keanu Reeves in recent years. With his beloved performances in such franchises as John Wick and The Matrix, including his return to the Bill & Ted franchise after so many decades, he’s earned a lot of respect and appreciation over the decades. This is also due to his unproblematic behavior and positive attitude towards seemingly everyone. Obviously, given Perry’s comments involving Reeves, it makes sense that fans were upset.