Addict Matthew Perry, ‘smart and manipulative,’ lied about his sobriety before death: report

A new report counters claims by Matthew Perry and some of his friends, including Jennifer Aniston, that he had been clean, sober and “in a good place” in the 19 months leading up to his shocking death on Oct. 28.

In fact, as sources close to Perry told Us Weekly, the beloved 54-year-old actor had been lying about his sobriety, including during a promotional tour for his 2022 memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Terrible Thing.” In that book and in interviews, the “Friends” star spoke openly about his decades-long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, his multiple relapses, stints in rehab and dire health consequences. But he presented those dark times as though they were behind him, talking about how he was in a good place and eager to help other addicts.

But others close to Perry told Us Weekly that he continued to abuse prescription drugs and to engage in other troubling, “abusive” behavior.

“He was verbally, emotionally and physically abusive,” one source told Us Weekly, who called Perry a “manipulative” person. “All he knew how to do was cause pain and play the victim.”

A second person insisted to Us Weekly that Perry “wasn’t a horrible human being. (But) he was so warped in his addiction that he wasn’t himself and the man he should be.” One way Perry kept himself supplied with drugs was through women he met on the dating app Raya, the source said. That way, he could get the drugs in private when the women would come visit himself at his house.

“Addicts are smart, and Matthew was brilliant,” the source said.

The common view of Perry, including right after his death, is that his life and career were finally on the mend, compounding the tragedy of his death. According to Us Weekly and other reports, he was in talks with filmmaker Adam McKay and others about some new projects, and he had taken up pickleball. On the morning of his death, he left Aniston with the impression that he was doing well. “I was literally texting with him that morning, funny Matty,” Aniston told Variety. “He was not in pain. He wasn’t struggling. He was happy.”

Later that afternoon, Perry was found face down down in the hot tub of his home in Los Angeles’ Pacific Palisades neighborhood, dead from what initially appeared to be drowning. His autopsy report soon indicated that he was anything but healthy and happy when he died, Us Weekly said.

The 29-page document, released on Dec. 15, revealed that the actor had died from the “acute effects of ketamine,” Us Weekly and other outlets reported. While Perry had been on ketamine infusion therapy to treat depression, the medical examiner concluded the drugs in his system — equivalent to the amount used during general anesthesia — couldn’t have been from his last known therapy session, a week and a half before he died.

While the documents stated that Perry had reportedly been clean for 19 months, it also suggested that Perry had been using the drug recreationally, Us Weekly also reported.

One of the insiders told Us Weekly that people who knew Perry best were not surprised that he died from an overdose, with one saying that the actor never received proper help for his mental health and that he had become isolated. With his income from “Friends,” he was wealthy and didn’t have to work, “so it created an environment to use,” the insider said.

These insiders also described a terrifying dark side to the charismatic, outwardly amiable actor. He was “abusive” in the way he treated some people close to him. In March 2022, he physically assaulted Morgan Moses, his best friend and “occasional sober companion,” after she confronted him at his home about being high on prescription drugs,” one of the sources told Us Weekly.

“He threw (Moses) into a wall and threw something at her and shoved her onto a bed,” the first source told Us Weekly, adding that Perry had been known to punch walls, flip tables and throw things during angry outbursts. After the incident, “he said, ‘If I wanted to hurt you, I would have,'” according to the source.

A “mortified” Perry called Moses to try and smooth things over. “He was panicking because the person who was always by his side had left him,” the source said. The two tried to stay friends but ultimately she couldn’t get past the incident, Us Weekly reported.

The sources also revealed to Us Weekly that Perry faced the threat of a lawsuit by an ex-girlfriend, who was in her 20s when she met Perry. She alleged that he was abusive and had gotten her addicted to drugs, including oxycodone and painkillers, the sources told Us Weekly. The girlfriend had retained the services of a high-profile law firm and ended up settling with Perry and signing a non-disclosure agreement, though she had evidence to support her claims.

“Their relationship was on and off for a few years,” the third source said. “The substance abuse was a big part of the breakup (and) it did turn tumultuous.” This source also said there was “a power play” in their relationship, given that Perry was a famous TV star and much older — in his late 40s and early 50s. “I think he took a lot of advantage of her because he got her hooked on drugs,” the source said.

Others in Perry’s life made additional allegations against him, Us Weekly reported. The first source said that one of his nurses left the profession because she was “traumatized” by her experience with him. “He was cruel,” the source said. “He had to pay for a lot of women to go to therapy. He left a lot of destruction.”

While Perry was promoting his book, the actor also engaged in reckless behavior while under the influence, including by crashing his Aston Martin. “He just damaged the car and no one was hurt, (but) he did not consider (that) he could have killed someone,” the first source said.

The idea that he was sober when he doing his book tour “was a lie,” the first source told Us Weekly. “He wanted to sell books. Everything was crafted and manipulated; the truth wasn’t important.”

The Us Weekly report also suggested that Aniston and Perry’s other “Friends” co-stars — Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer — did not know him as well as they believed, especially after he became isolated in the last years of his life.

“He lied to all of them about so many things over the years,” the first source told Us Weekly. Perry sometimes said negative things about his co-stars, perhaps out of jealously became they had not struggled like he did. “He felt inferior (to them), so when he spoke negatively, it came from that insecurity.”