New Delhi: Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the popular sitcom 'Friends', was found dead in his Los Angeles hot tub at the age of 54. Before his untimely death in October, Perry "was never clean and lied about being sober," said a friend of the late actor.
Matthew's friend told MailOnline that he had never been sober and that he had lied to everyone about being clean.
“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,” they said.
They also said that Matthew was “manipulative” when it came to his addiction and that it was a constant “struggle” and “such a battle” for him.
The medical examiner declared his death to be an accident and listed heart disease, opioid addiction treatment medicine buprenorphine, and drowning as causes of death. According to the postmortem report, Matthew's blood contained considerable amounts of ketamine, a potent anesthetic, at the time of his death. It was probable that Matthew lost consciousness and drowned since ketamine can induce breathing and cardiac issues, according to the report.
For years, Matthew had battled addiction and been upfront about his problems with drugs and alcohol. He went through a rehab program in 1997 after becoming addicted to the opioid Vicodin.
“I should have been the toast of the town, but I was in a dark room meeting with nothing but drug dealers and completely alone,” he said.
The 'Friends' star spoke about his experience with ketamine in his memoir, which was released a year before he died. During the pandemic, he had attempted ketamine as a treatment for his addiction in a clinic in Switzerland.
Matthew also wrote that ketamine made him feel like he was “dying”. He said in his book, “‘Oh,’ I thought, ‘This is what happens when you die’.”