Matthew Perry's Friend Claims Actor Was 'Never Clean' And 'Lied' About His Sobriety

Renewed controversy has surrounded the late actor Matthew Perry following revelations from an alleged close friend, suggesting that he had not been truthful about his battle with substance abuse.

Perry was found dead in October in a face-down position in the jacuzzi adjoining the swimming pool of his L.A. home. The beloved actor has since been laid to rest.

According to the Daily Mail, a close friend of the late actor, who opted to remain anonymous, asserted that Perry had never truly achieved sobriety and that he lied about overcoming his addictions.

Perry, in his 2022 memoir, claimed to have gone sober with the help of a sober coach and a close friend of his. However, the recent claims by a close acquaintance of his suggest a different reality, painting a picture of a continuous struggle for the beloved star.

"He lied to everyone about being clean. He never was. It is very sad. You know, the biggest lie he told was probably to himself," the source disclosed.

"He could be quite a manipulative person when it came to his struggles with using, but it was such a struggle, such a battle, and he battled every day to the end," Perry's friend added.

Recent autopsy findings obtained by The Blast have confirmed the actor's cause of death to be a Ketamine overdose in conjunction with other contributory factors, substantiating initial suspicions surrounding his untimely passing.

Authorities disclosed that Perry had an equal measure of Ketamine in his system as a hospital patient under general anesthetic, leading to his death that arose from the "acute effects of Ketamine" and drowning.

"The County of Los Angeles Department of Medical Examiner determined the cause of death for 54-year-old actor Matthew Langford Perry as the acute effects of ketamine," the Los Angeles coroner's office recently revealed.

They went on, "Contributing factors in Mr Perry's death include drowning, coronary artery disease, and the effects of buprenorphine (used to treat opioid use disorder). The manner of death is an accident."

He was reportedly undergoing treatment for his depression via Ketamine infusion therapy, but that was about a week and a half before he was found face down in his hot tub. Since Ketamine only stays in one's system for three to four hours, it is believed it did not directly lead to Perry's death. His peripheral blood Ketamine levels were at 3,540 ng/ml and 3,271 ng/ml in central blood.

In a candid and revealing memoir he released in November last year, the actor opened up about his arduous battle with addiction, detailing a personal journey towards sobriety that reportedly cost him a staggering $9 million, per the Daily Mail.

In his memoir, "Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing," Perry shared that after his colon exploded in 2018, the opiates drug he was prescribed was seemingly insufficient to help him deal with his pain, leading to him turning to street dealers to supply him with potentially fatal, possibly fentanyl-laced OxyContin.

"The street pills were something like $75 per pill, so I was giving the guy $3,000 at a time, many times a week," he wrote.

In his quest to become free of alcohol and substance abuse, He reportedly had to undergo a dozen life-saving surgeries, 15 trips to rehab clinics, went to 6,000 alcohol anonymous meetings, and was in detox 65 times. He claimed he had overcome his addictions and was leading a healthier lifestyle, even picking up pickleball as a choice sport.

In the wake of Perry's tragic passing, concerns have arisen regarding the circumstances surrounding his ketamine overdose autopsy report. His ex-girlfriend, Kayti Edwards, whom he dated in 2006 and worked as Perry's assistant in 2011, called for a thorough investigation into the doctors involved in administering treatments to him.

According to The U.S. Sun, Edwards, who used to buy Perry's drugs for him, shared her disbelief at the reports that he got drugs from the street, calling his doctors to provide further explanations.

"I'm pretty sure that in Matthew's brain, ketamine infusions at a doctor's would count as still being sober," she shared. "In his brain, it's not the same as going on the street to buy crack or heroin."

She went on to convey her suspicion of Perry's ketamine therapy pushing him to relapse into drugs beyond the doctor's office.

"That probably was the stepping stone for him to go back to doing drugs," Edwards continued. "I think the doctors who had been working with Matthew should be investigated. I'm pretty sure he would have had an in with a doctor."

Perry's former partner claimed that she "wasn't surprised" when the autopsy report came out because she "already knew what it was" as Perry "didn't seem right during the last couple weeks of his life."

Rest in peace, Matthew Perry.