Matthew Perry Confirms ‘Omission’ of Keanu Reeves’ Name From His Memoir After Backlash

Matthew Perry recently created controversy with his nasty comments about Keanu Reeves. The "Friends" actor revealed some shockingly negative feelings about Keanu Reeves in his memoir "Friends, Lovers, And The Big Terrible Thing."

Last year, Perry questioned why Reeves "still walks among us" when peers like River Phoenix had died prematurely. According to Daily Mail, he mentions in his memoir, "Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?" in a passage. 

Perry regrets his behavior and has apologized for his words. He has confirmed that future versions of his memoir will omit the mentioned lines. The Massachusetts native appeared at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books at USC’s Bovard Auditorium on April 22, where he said on a panel that "any future versions of the book will not have his (Reeves') name in it." 

Perry, who played Chandler Bing on the NBC smash hit, lamented the mistake at the event, where he was promoting the book. He confessed, "I said a stupid thing. It was a mean thing to do," adding that he has "apologized publicly" to Reeves. "The Odd Couple" actor continued to explain that he made the decision to omit the comments about Reeves, in part, because the actor is a neighbor of his. "I pulled his name because I live on the same street," Perry said, adding that he has not personally told Reeves he is sorry for the comments, but would if he has the opportunity to. "If I run into the guy, I'll apologize – it was just stupid," he said. 

According to Page Six, the "Friends" alum made his debut with the movie "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon" in 1988 with Reeves’ longtime best friend, River Phoenix. The 53-year-old essayed the role of Phoenix’s best friend in the movie. The pair became close pals while filming in Chicago. The star writes in his book of Phoenix’ death from an overdose at age 23 in 1993: “River 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." 

Perry referred to the "John Wick" star a second time when reflecting on Chris Farley's fatal overdose in December of 1997. He said, "I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston's dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves walks among us." After receiving subsequent backlash, Perry issued an apology about the references to Reeves in his book. He said in a statement: "I'm actually a big fan of Keanu. I just chose a random name, my mistake. I apologize. I should have used my own name instead."

In the book, Perry details his decades-spanning drug and alcohol addiction, how he has spent millions of dollars on rehab, his colostomy, and other personal revelations.