‘He was never clean’: Matthew Perry’s drug ‘lies’

A close friend of Matthew Perry says the Friends star “lied” about his sobriety and lived out some tragic final weeks.

Matthew Perry died of a ketamine overdose. Picture: AFP

Friends star Matthew Perry, who died in October at the age of 54 following a ketamine overdose, was “never clean”, a close friend has revealed.

In his 2022 memoir, Perry said that he had finally overcome his addictions with the help of a sober coach and best friend.

However, a friend of the star told the Daily Mail that Perry “lied to everyone about being clean. He never was. It is very sad. You know, the biggest lie he told was probably to himself”.

Matthew Perry died of a ketamine overdose. Picture: AFP

“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,” the source said.

An autopsy published late last week revealed that Perry died from the “acute effects of ketamine” and drowning, with the actor having similar quantities of ketamine in his system as a hospital patient under general anaesthetic.

According to the New York Post, high levels of the tranquilliser drug were found in his bloodstream and trace amounts of the powder were found in his stomach, indicating he may have taken it in pill form.

Matthew Perry with his Friends co-stars, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc. Picture: AFP

“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 said last Friday.

“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 accident.”

Perry was undergoing frequent ketamine infusions to treat depression and drug addiction, though the medical examiner noted that the drug in his system could not have been from his final infusion.

Jennifer Aniston said Matthew Perry was “doing great”. Picture: Supplied

Perry was found facedown in the spa, which adjoined the swimming pool at his Los Angeles home on October 28.

It also emerged that Perry was getting regular injections of testosterone in the weeks leading up to his tragic death — which a friend said left him “angry and mean,” according to his autopsy report.

The male hormone was just one of many prescriptions the Friends star had been taking when he accidentally drowned.

It is unclear why the actor was prescribed the male hormone — notorious for triggering aggression — though it could have been to offset the effects of an oestrogen-based weight loss drug he was also taking.

Perry was described by officials as “mildly obese.”

Matthew Perry was on ketamine on anxiety on depression. Picture: Getty Images

How the actor got his hands on the tranquilliser is not clear, but a female associate asserted that Perry had been generally happy, despite irritability brought on by the testosterone treatments.

“She last spoke to [Perry] a few days ago, and he seemed fine and was in “good spirits,” the 29-page autopsy said of the unnamed woman.

According to the associate, Perry told her he would “never kill himself” and appeared hopeful for his future, even asking his doctors to wean him off ketamine and Buprenorphine, both used to treat drug addiction, after celebrating 19 months of reported sobriety.

Jennifer Aniston shared a throwback photo of her and Matthew Perry during a table read for Friends. Picture: Instagram

In the bedroom of Perry’s assistant — who found the actor face down in the heated spa — deputies discovered “multiple open, empty, half-filled medication bottles prescribed to [Perry], as well as over-the-counter medications, vitamins, digestive aids and dishes filled with multiple various loose pills, tablets, capsules, lollies and breath mints.

Multiple nicotine vaping products and nicotine lollipops were also in the home. The friend told officers Perry had kicked his smoking addiction just two weeks earlier, but his assistant claimed the actor was still smoking two packs a day, the report states.

Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc. Picture: Getty Images

Notably, investigators found “no alcohol, illicit drugs, or drug paraphernalia” in the home or near the spa.

The beloved TV star — who recounted his longtime struggles with addiction in his 2022 memoir — had reportedly been clean and sober for 19 months leading up to his death.

Perry’s death shocked fans across the nation and loved ones alike, the latter of which were reportedly too overcome with grief to discuss post-mortem processes.

“Tissue donation was not discussed with the family because they were distraught,” the autopsy stated.

Perry wished to be remembered not only as an actor but as an advocate for those who were also struggling with substance abuse.

His dream came to fruition days after his death when the Matthew Perry Foundation was launched, a charity dedicated to helping individuals battling with addiction.

He also founded the Perry House in 2013 to help others with their sobriety.

“I would like to be remembered as somebody who lived well, loved well, was a seeker,” the actor noted in a November 2022 interview on the Q with Tom Power podcast.