Late Friends star Matthew Perry previously addressed his addiction battle that lasted decades, admitting his death “wouldn’t surprise anybody”.
Actor Matthew, 54, was found unresponsive at his Los Angeles home yesterday (Saturday October 28), according to reports.
Police are said to have been called following a report of a cardiac arrest at the star’s home. It is believed he died in his hot tub. Furthermore, it has been reported no drugs were found at the scene.
Matthew was an advocate for drug and addiction-related matters, having struggled himself for many years. He is said to have entered rehab 15 times for a variety of addictions, including to Vicodin, methadone, amphetamines and alcohol.
And ahead of the release of his autobiography Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing in November 2022, Matthew spoke about his battle in several interviews.
Matthew Perry on addiction issues
Matthew’s memoir began with the revelation that he nearly died aged 49.
Suffering with a gastrointestinal perforation, he spent weeks fighting for his life after his colon burst from opioid overuse. Matthew spent two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital. He also had to use a colostomy bag for nine months.
“The doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live,” he wrote. “I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”
View this post on Instagram
‘In a lot of trouble’
According to reports, Matthew wrote he was “in a lot of trouble” with alcohol by the age of 34, while he starred on Friends. Nonetheless, there were periods during that time when he was sober.
But at one point during the show’s run he was taking 55 Vicodin a day and his weight had plummeted.
I didn’t know how to stop.
“I didn’t know how to stop,” he recalled. “If the police came over to my house and said: ‘If you drink tonight, we’re going to take you to jail,’ I’d start packing. I couldn’t stop because the disease and the addiction is progressive. So it gets worse and worse as you grow older.”
‘The disease doesn’t care’
There were notable changes in his appearance, too. But Matthew credited his co-stars for their understanding and patience.
Additionally, 14 surgeries on his stomach left scars, which he regarded as “a lot of reminders to stay sober”.
He also credited his therapist for suggesting he think about the possibility of having a colostomy bag for the rest of his life as helping him quit taking Oxycontin.
And while Matthew was grateful for his sobriety when the book was published, he suggested his admissions could shock, if not suprise.
He said of readers’ expectations and reactions: “I think they’ll be surprised at how bad it got at certain times and how close to dying I came. I say in the book that if I did die, it would shock people, but it wouldn’t surprise anybody. And that’s a very scary thing to be living with. So my hope is that people will relate to it, and know that this disease attacks everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re successful or not successful, the disease doesn’t care.”
Read more: Matthew Perry’s haunting final Instagram post shared days before tragic death aged 54
Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think of this story.