Matthew Perry to remove Keanu Reeves comments from memoir: “It was just stupid”

Matthew Perry is vowing to remove the controversial mentions of Keanu Reeves from future editions of his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.

In the November 2022 memoir, Perry seemed to shade Reeves. Perry issued a swift apology at the time and now he’s putting action behind it.

“I said a stupid thing. It was a mean thing to do,” Perry, 53, said at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books on Saturday, April 22, per Variety. “I pulled his name because I live on the same street. I’ve apologized publicly to him. Any future versions of the book will not have his name in it.”

“If I run into the guy, I’ll apologize,” the Friends star added. “It was just stupid.”

In excepts shared in October 2022, before the memoir’s official release, Perry wrote, “It always seems to be the really talented guys who go down. Why is it that original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?”

Reeves was also cited in a different passage about late comedian Chris Farley. “His disease had progressed faster than mine had,” Perry wrote of Farley. “I punched a hole through Jennifer Aniston’s dressing room wall when I found out. Keanu Reeves still walks among us.”

The passages went viral with fans of the John Wick star questioning the mentions, prompting Perry to issue an apology.

“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,” he said at the time.

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