Keanu Reeves is reportedly aware of the insults that Friends star Matthew Perry made in his new memoir – and later apologised for – and apparently expressed a feeling of shock when he privately responded to them.
Perry officially published his memoir Friends, Lovers And The Big Terrible Thing on Tuesday (November 1). Amid candid details of his struggles with addiction – including the revelation that he almost died of opioid overuse in 2018 – and the claim that he once kissed Eddie Van Halen’s wife while the guitarist was passed out drunk, the book sees Perry make several quips at Reeves’ expense.
The first comes in a passage about the death of River Phoenix, who was a close friend of Reeves’ before he died in 1993 (Perry also starred alongside him in the 1988 film A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon). In it, Perry wrote: “Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?”
He made a similar dig at Reeves in writing about the death of Saturday Night Live star Chris Farley, writing: “I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves walks among us.”
After receiving backlash en masse, Perry formally apologised for the insults, saying in a statement that he’s “actually a big fan of Keanu” and “just chose a random name” to use as a punchline. “My mistake,” he continued. “I apologise. I should have used my own name instead.”
Reeves has not commented publicly on Perry’s memoir – the Matrix star has no official social media presence – however according to a source believed to be linked with him, he was surprised to learn of Perry’s animosity. “Keanu thought the comments came out of left field,” an “insider” is said to have told Us Weekly. “It’s kind of backfired on Matthew anyway, which is why he had to apologise.”
Elsewhere in his book, Perry claimed that Cameron Diaz once hit in the face during a group date, that he almost missed the shoot for Friends: The Reunion due to emergency dental surgery (leading to his voice sounding different in the special), that he “had to beg” the show’s producers to change the way his lines were delivered, and that Zac Efron once turned down a role as a younger version of him.
Bertinelli has also responded to the claim that she and Perry kissed while her late husband was passed out. Last week, she posted a TikTok soundtracked by a clip of Taylor Swift‘s ‘Anti-Hero’, where she sings: “It’s me, hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.”
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