American actor and writer Charlie Sheen recently shared insights about the struggles faced by ‘Friends’ star Matthew Perry in the months leading up to his untimely passing in 2023.
Concerns About Perry’s Well-Being
During an appearance on “Piers Morgan Uncensored,” Sheen reflected on troubling signs he observed when Perry was promoting his memoir, “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” in 2022. He expressed that it was evident Perry was not sober while discussing his book, which centers around themes of sobriety and recovery.
“I felt really bad, I felt bad for him. When I heard a little snippet from the audiobook, he didn’t have that perfect, specific, laser-focused diction that he always had, delivering comedy or anything at the level that he did. So, I could hear a man who was … handicapped,” Sheen remarked.
Regrets of Not Reaching Out
Feeling regretful, Charlie Sheen admitted that he wished he had reached out to Perry. Though he did not know him well, he expressed admiration for the memoir. “I didn’t know Matthew that well. … I read his book, and I read it in a day, and I loved it. And I’m so proud of him and inspired by it. I wanted to reach out, you know, because I’m in his book … when he says, ‘Eff Charlie Sheen and I’m going to be that famous one day too.’ And I didn’t. I think he died, like, three weeks after I read the book,” he explained.
Understanding Addiction Struggles
Charlie added that he could empathize with Perry’s battle against addiction. “I could feel that sort of prison that he, you know, put himself in,” he noted.
For those who may not know, Matthew Perry was discovered deceased at his Los Angeles residence in October 2023, at the age of 54. The toxicology report indicated that he died from the “acute effects of ketamine.”